The Dream
by Just Stay HIV Positive
Summary: About a year after the Imaginationland incident, Kyle is plagued by recurring nightmares that turn into something far worse. Fear is a powerful thing...COMPLETED!
1. Chapter 1

"-Title still in progress-"

**Hi everyone! Ok the first thing I want to say is thank you so much to those of you that read and/or reviewed my first story. You guys made me soooo happy for the rest of the day with your nice reviews. When I first started reading fancics I laughed at how desperate some people were for reviews. But I get it now, lol. After reading the reviews I spent about an hour trying to absorb the fact that people not only took the time to read my story and **_**liked **_**it, but also actually **_**took the time**_** to **_**tell me**_** they liked it with super nice reviews. You guys are the best!:) Thanks again!**

**Anyway, this story is going to be my first multi-chaptered fanfic. I'm still not sure how it's going to end, but hopefully I'll stick with it. Reviews will make me very happy and encourage me to finish:). This idea came to me after the Imaginationland series. I was a little confused about how Kyle could suddenly hear Stan and the others from Imaginationland inside of his head after his near-death experience. Well, I still don't know how that worked out, and actually I don't even address that in this story :P. It takes place afterwards, probably a year or so. Basically everyone, including Kyle, has forgotten about this ability until it comes back to haunt him. It starts off with some pretty cliché nightmare stuff, but it gets better. It also gets a bit random so let me know if it totally sucks or not. Well without further ado, I present to you:**

"-Title still in progress-" **(lol)**

_A pair of red eyes followed his every move. His heart hammered in his chest so hard it almost hurt. A chuckle straight from hell made every hair on his body stand on end._

_"It is you, isn't it?" Said the dark voice. He couldn't imagine a more evil voice. He wanted to scream, but his body had suddenly forgotten how. The darkness began to flicker and the beady red eyes were losing their piercing stare. _

"Not yet then," The vile voice had a trace of disappointment to it. "Farewell for now then, we will meet again, Kyle Broflovski." The evil chuckle faded slowly.

***

With a startled yell Kyle bolted upright in his bed. He looked around frantically before letting out a relieved sigh. A dream. Of course that's all it was. Only a nightmare. He told himself. Again. He sighed. Ever since his accident he'd been having a lot of nightmares. Touching the back of his still tender head, Kyle winced. It was your own fault. He chided himself. You had to let that fat asshole get to you. Kyle rolled his eyes and swung out of bed, trudging sleepily towards the bathroom. It was a stupid bet. Seriously, everyone can ride a bike down that stupid cliff, what kind of lame-ass would wipeout anyway?

"Obviously I would." He muttered to himself in the mirror. He could practically hear Cartman's taunting voice in his mind.

"I told you, Jews don't have good balance." I was just trying to shut him up and ended up giving that fatass more ammo. Great. Today was supposed to be his first day back at school since the accident last Thursday. No doubt Cartman had spent the whole weekend in anticipation of today. And I guess I owe him $20 yet. Damn it. He thought about trying to get out of school for the day. He could probably pull it off; his overprotective mother would let him spend at least one more day in bed. Kyle considered the idea, then discarded it with a sigh. It was only prolonging the inevitable. Besides, he was sick of staying in bed with only his nightmares to keep him company. He hadn't seen Stan or Kenny since Friday when they had visited him in the hospital. With a resigned sigh, he headed back to his room to get ready for school.

***

"Hey dude, how are you feeling?" asked Stan when Kyle finally trudged to the bus stop.

"Okay, I guess." Shrugged Kyle.

"You look tired." Commented Kenny, his voice muffled behind his perpetual orange parka. It was only after years of practice that his three best friends could decipher what the hooded boy was saying.

"Uh, yeah. I just had some lame dream last night, no big deal." Kyle shrugged again, pushing the dream from his mind. "Hey, where's-"

"So you were taken by the visitors last night?" smirked a voice behind him. "Did they give you an anal probe? Hey, maybe they finally got that sand out of your vagina while they were at it." I hate Mondays.

"Shut up, fatass."

"Nope, I guess they forgot." Grinned Cartman, practically beaming. "So Kahl how is your head? That looked like a really painful wipeout last Thursday." Kyle clenched his teeth. It was that fake sweetness in Cartman's voice that pissed him off more than anything else. "I feel as though I'm forgetting about something…ah! That's right. Cough up the twenty bucks, Jew." Cartman held out his hand, eyes gleaming. Still clenching his teeth, Kyle reluctantly reached into his pocket and pulled out a bill. Cartman snatched it out of his hand victoriously.

"Well, it's not quite as satisfying as the outcome of our last bet…" Cartman grinned in satisfaction as Kyle's eyes darkened. After the Imaginationland incident he had sworn never to make another bet with Cartman. His hands formed fists at his side. Don't let him get to you. Don't let him get to you. Stan, sensing his friend was reaching his boiling point, grabbed him by the shoulders and guided him away.

"Screw him, dude, it's not worth it. The bus is coming anyway." The giant yellow vehicle pulled to a screeching stop beside the sign. Kyle took a deep breath and relaxed. Stan was right. With a sigh he stepped onto the bus and settled into his seat.

***

It was after him. He didn't know what it wanted from him, only that the thing attached to those malevolent eyes was fast and tirelessly keeping pace with him.

"You can't run forever." The low voice hissed dripping with evil. The thing was right, his lungs burned, his chest felt like it was on fire and his legs were turning to jelly. Summoning his breath, he opened his mouth and…

***

Kyle screamed bringing his mom bursting into his room.

"Kyle, are you okay?" she asked worriedly. His heart was throbbing like he'd run a marathon. His eyes darted around the room, especially the dark corners.

"I'm…I'm fine." He gasped, shakily. Sheila didn't seem entirely convinced.

"Are you sure?" She asked, peering closely at him.

"Yeah…it was just a nightmare." He replied, still trying to get control of his lungs.

"Well, okay then, try to get some sleep, school starts in three hours." Giving him a final, suspicious look, she stepped out of his room, closing the door slowly behind her. The hall light that had flooded his room disappeared, leaving him in darkness. Kyle glanced at his clock and groaned. His mom was right, he only had three hours left. It felt like he had been running a marathon instead of sleeping. He was completely exhausted. Ugh, I should try to get some sleep at least. The thought made his heart speed up again. But what if that nightmare comes again? Kyle groaned at the thought. No way. It's just a dream! Jeez, just get over it! Something in the corner moved. He was sure of it. Your letting this dream play tricks on your mind, just forget it! He kept his eyes glued on the corner. Well, it wasn't like three hours really mattered anyway. I might as well just stay awake. He concluded.

***

Kyle yawned again. He thought his jaw might crack if he kept this up. From the adjacent desk, Stan tossed him a worried look. Kyle waved it off, knowing that his friend's look probably had to do with the dark circles under his eyes. This had been the longest week of his life, enduring Cartman's constant taunts. It didn't help matters that his tired brain had been too muddled to come up with a decent remark all week. And then there was the nightmare. He shuddered at the thought. Okay, he would admit it. Despite his best efforts, that damn dream was starting to get to him. He'd begun to dread bedtime, lying awake in his bed, fighting the sleep that would always end up winning. And the dream would always come. It was lame, he knew. The red eyes and the shadowy figure were hardly the most disturbing thing he'd ever seen, but for some reason always managed to fill him with fear. Kyle yawned again, trying to pay attention to Mr. Garrison's lesson. The sexually confused teacher's lessons were snore-worthy at the best of times, but coupled with Kyle's sleepless week, he found it nearly impossible to keep his eyes open.

***

"This time you're mine." The wicked voice filled his ears, oozing with an evil satisfaction. He ran, feeling the thing's breath on the back of his neck.

"Why do you run? You can't escape. I will not leave until I get what I want! I have waited long enough!" The voice turned into an angry roar, nearly deafening him.

***

He was screaming again. The thought occurred to him when he noticed the whole class staring at him in shock. Kyle quickly closed his mouth. Stan looked even more worried. Kenny was sympathetic. Cartman was smiling so widely Kyle wondered how his face could contain it.

"Is there a problem?" Mr. Garrison was looking at him too.

"No, sir." He mumbled, turning his eyes to his desk so he wouldn't have to meet anyone's looks anymore. He could feel his face turning red. Damn this stupid nightmare! This is just retarded already. Fine. If this goddamn nightmare won't stop, I'll just stop sleeping! He decided determinedly.

***

"Hey Stan!" He called, jogging to catch up with his friend.

"Hey. Are you okay?" Asked Stan curiously "I mean, in class today you kind of…"

"Uh, yeah…don't worry I got it under control." Kyle wished he could be as confident as the words he spoke. Stan wasn't fooled. That's the disadvantage of super best friends, Kyle reflected you can't lie to them.

"Is this dream really messing you up this bad?" Stan's blue eyes pierced into Kyle's green one's, daring him to tell a lie. He sighed.

"I…I don't know, it shouldn't be that scary, I mean we've seen some really f**ked up things before, but for some reason I…" He felt his heart speeding up just thinking about it. For the most part he tried not to talk about the nightmare. The more he talked about it, the more real it all seemed. And the more real it seemed, the more frightening it seemed. And the more frightening it seemed, the more he thought about it. So he didn't talk about it.

"What's this nightmare about?" Stan wanted to know.

"Its just this big shadow thing with red eyes. I know, its really lame, but…" Kyle trailed off, embarrassed. There wasn't any real way to describe the fear that creature filled his heart with. The hellish way it's voice roared. Satan had nothing on this guy. Kyle decided it was time for a change of topic.

"Hey Stan, if you're not busy this weekend, did you want to come over to my house for night? I got the latest heaven vs. hell game for the game-sphere last week."

"Ok, sure. I'll just have to go pack and let my mom know. I'll meet you at your house in about half an hour."

"Alright, see ya!" Kyle sighed in relief. If he had someone to hang out with all night, hopefully he wouldn't drift off to sleep like he had in class. Stupid nightmare. You won't get to me tonight! He wondered about the sanity of talking to dreams. Probably shouldn't think about that. He decided.

***

Stan yawned.

"That's it dude, I'm done." He tossed the controller to the side.

"One more round!" Challenged Kyle. Stan groaned.

"I'm exhausted. Besides, I've beaten you every single round."

"You're just saying that because you know you're going to lose." Said Kyle, picking up Stan's controller and tossing it towards him. "I almost had you that time." It was a lie. Stan had totally kicked his ass every time. Kyle didn't care about the outcome of the game. As long as it wasn't sleeping, he was happy. He glanced at the clock.

"C'mon Stan, it's only 4:30!"

"Dude," groaned Stan "I need to get some sleep, I'm going to be exhausted for tomorrow."

"What's tomorrow?" frowned Kyle.

"You don't remember?" Kyle's blank look was all the confirmation he needed. "The Terrance and Philip movie comes out on DVD. I invited you, Kenny and Cartman over to watch. My parents are gone to some lame spa thing and Shelley is going to her friend's birthday party, so we got the place to ourselves. You really don't remember?" Kyle distantly recalled Stan telling him something similar some time in his past sleep-deprived week.

"Uh…"

Stan rolled his eyes and wriggled into his sleeping bag.

"Whatever, but I need to get some sleep." He stretched once and closed eyes.

"Yeah, ok." Sighed Kyle, picking up his controller. He started a one-player game. Stan opened one eye.

"Um, Kyle?"

"Yeah?"

"Aren't you going to sleep too?"

"Yeah, I'm just going to play one more round." There was silence for a moment other than the sound of heaven's armies being brutally slain by the forces of hell. Stan watched for a moment before speaking again.

"You're not planning on going to sleep are you?" Kyle bit his lip but didn't reply. Stan sighed.

"You can't just stay awake for the rest of your life you know." Kyle tried to concentrate on the game. Not that it would help at this point. Heaven was pretty much screwed. Just let it go, Stan. Kyle pleaded silently. His friend sighed, deciding this conversation could wait until morning. Kyle soon heard his soft snoring. He sighed as the words "YOU LOST" flashed on the screen. "REPLAY or QUIT?" asked the game. The tired boy glanced at the clock on the wall. 4:45. He selected replay.

***

He was still playing, and losing badly, when Stan woke up the next morning. His friend stretched and yawned and noticed Kyle still in front of the TV. He was quiet for a moment.

"Dude, you suck at that game." Kyle turned around and laughed.

"Good morning to you too." Stan was taken aback by Kyle's appearance. The dark circles under his eyes gave the impression that he was a raccoon that had picked a fight with the wrong guy. His eyes were totally bloodshot from playing game-sphere all night. Despite this fact he seemed pretty happy.

"Did you get any sleep at all?" Stan asked suspiciously.

"No, which means I didn't have any nightmares either." Kyle replied triumphantly. Stan sighed.

"For the second time, you can't survive without sleep your whole life." Kyle dropped his controller with a sigh, his good mood slipping away. Time for another topic change.

"I'm hungry, want some breakfast?" he asked, trying to keep his tone cheerful. Stan was reluctant to drop the topic, but he did have to admit breakfast did sound appealing. He followed his friend towards the kitchen. In the doorway Kyle suddenly stopped, leaning heavily on the doorframe.

"Hey, are you ok?" Asked Stan with concern. Kyle closed his eyes for a second quelling the nausea and dizziness. He opened his eyes.

"No…I-I…don't feel so good…" Stan noticed his friend's face had gone chalk white. Suddenly Kyle's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed to the ground.

"Kyle!" Stan rushed to his friend's side. "Kyle, wake up!" No response from the limp body "C'mon dude, wake up!"

***

It was dark. Everything was dark. What happened? Wondered Kyle, I was just going for breakfast…where am I? He'd been here before. A cold chill came up behind him. No. It was the only thought that entered his mind. No. No. No. No, no, no, no no nononono…

"You thought you were so clever." The voice behind him mocked him. He didn't' want to turn around. "You really thought that if you didn't go to sleep I couldn't get to you?" The hellish chuckle froze Kyle in place. No… he thought This can't be happening. I'm not sleeping. He can't get to me. He's in my dreams and if I'm not sleeping, he shouldn't be here.

"I am too powerful now. I'm so close. I am no longer bound by the laws of consciousness." The voice that sent shivers through every bone in his body explained patiently. Trembling, Kyle slowly turned his head. More real than ever before, the shadow stood behind him leering towards him.

"No!" he screamed, feeling tears starting to prick his eyes. "No, stay away!" There was that sinister chuckle that froze him in place. The shadowy beast bent over him lowering what could be called a face towards Kyle's head.

"Oh yes," the creature's putrid breath made Kyle think of rotting corpses and his stomach threatened to release his last meal, "you will be mine, and then…"

***

"Kyle!" He was aware of someone holding very tightly to his shoulders and shaking him. How could this happen?

"Come on, say something!" Insisted the voice. It's not fair. It doesn't make any sense…

"Please wake up…" I can't do anything. That thing can get to me whether I'm sleeping or awake… The tears forming in his eyes finally spilled.

"Kyle?" Kyle finally opened his eyes. "Jesus dude! You scared the shit out of me! Are you okay?" Kyle shook his head.

"It's not a dream." He whispered, tears falling freely.

"What?"

"He can get to me, even when I'm awake. I can't stop him. I think he's going to kill me…" Stan had no reply.

**Whew. Long chapter. I think this is actually longer than my one-shot. Go figure. Anyway, don't expect the rest of the chapters to be this long. I think chapter two is actually going to be like half as long. Ok, right now I know it sounds like a freaky bad dream but this does actually tie in with the Imaginationland thing that I mentioned before.**

**Well, its 7:30 in the morning, so I pretty much just spent the whole night typing this. Wow. So I'm sorry if I messed up on some stuff. Well, I'm running out of things to say so I'm going to get some Z's now. Once again, much love to those of you who have and will review! Ok bye!**


	2. Chapter 2

Hi again! Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews:) They made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside: D. Good news! I finally got some sleep and I'm ready to write chapter 2. Hurray!

This is probably going to be a fairly boring chapter. The story doesn't progress very much here, but the ending should be a cliffhanger hopefully!

Chapter 2

Stan glanced anxiously at his friend for at least the tenth time since they'd sat down for breakfast. Despite his claims of hunger earlier, Kyle had hardly touched his Corn Flakes and was instead swirling the soggy cereal around and staring into the bowl as if it held the secrets of life. He looked awful, his gaunt pale face punctuated with bloodshot eyes ringed with dark circles.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" Stan asked, picking up his twice-emptied bowl and rinsing it out. Kyle's mom was a bit of a neat freak and would flip if they left a mess on the table.

"I'm not that hungry." His friend replied in a quiet mumble. Stan eyed him critically. Kyle had always been on the small side, but lately he had looked even thinner. Stan could recall his lack of appetite at lunch in the cafeteria the past week. Kyle pushed his bowl away, his mind clearly not thinking about the wrath of his mother if he left a mess. Stan sighed and cleaned up his friend's bowl for him.

"Now what?" Kyle's eyes were still staring at the table, but Stan assumed he was talking to him, seeing as he was the only other person in the room. "I can't do anything…just wait until…" Stan could see his friend's eyes filling up with tears again. He sighed sympathetically. He could tell this stupid dream was torturing Kyle.

"Maybe you should go see a doctor or something." He suggested. Kyle glanced at him.

"And what would he say? 'Oh, you look awful! You should go home and get some sleep right away!' Because that would fix everything!" He laughed bitterly.

"Well…maybe not a doctor exactly…maybe…a psychiatrist?" he offered. Kyle blinked, studying him a moment.

"You think I'm crazy." It wasn't a question. Before he could reply, Kyle continued, eyes darkening. "You think I'm making a big deal about nothing!"

"Well, it _is_ just a dream…" Stan interjected, weakly. His friend slumped lower in his chair.

"Maybe you should just go home." The statement hung painfully in the air, Kyle's eyes dropping to the table again. "I promised my mom I would clean my room today. I should probably get started." Stan bit his lip instead of pointing out that his friend's room was already unusually clean like always. Stan tried not to feel too hurt by the comment. _You were the one who told him to get mental help._ He reminded himself.

"Uh…ok. See you tonight, right?" He asked hopefully. Kyle hesitated briefly before nodding.

"Yeah, see you later." Stan gave and inward sigh, glad his friend wasn't too mad. He gathered his sleeping bag and headed for the door.

"7:00, don't forget!" he called, closing the door behind him.

***

Kyle was still staring at the table when his mother came down the stairs in her bathrobe.

"Oh, hi Kyle, you're up early! I thought you and Stan would be sleeping in this morning." Sheila glanced around. "Where is he anyway?"

"He had to go home early." Kyle replied. His mother glanced at him, clearly not believing him.

"Are you okay, buhbee? You look like you didn't sleep at all."

"Yeah, uh, me and Stan stayed up kinda late I guess." Kyle shrugged. "I'm going to go get dressed." He added, jumping to his feet before his mom could question him anymore. _If even Stan thinks I'm crazy, my mom will put me in a straightjacket without asking any questions. _He thought with a sigh. He was so wrapped up in thought he almost ran over his brother.

"Oh, sorry, Ike." He said, helping his brother to his feet.

"Dinow nanner." replied Ike in his usual way.

"No Ike, I'm fine."

"Waffuw im my pants!"

"I've just been having some bad dreams lately, I'll be fine, ok?" He hurried past his genius brother before he could be further questioned. _Why is everyone on my case today? Do I really look that bad?_ Curious, he slipped into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. A shocked expression stared back at him. _Holy shit, dude! I really do look like crap!_ He touched his haggard face with one hand just to make sure the mirror wasn't lying to him. Shuddering, he decided his first order of business should be a shower. The steamy water felt like heaven as he let it run over his head and down his shoulders. Just washing all his cares away. All the dark thoughts just running down his back to the floor and circling down, down, down into the drain. Kyle wasn't sure how long he stood there, letting the water run over him until his dad pounded on the door.

"Kyle! Stop wasting all the hot water! Unless you want to start paying the water bill I suggest you get out of that shower!" Reluctantly, he turned off the water and grabbed one of the towels from the rack. Wrapping himself in the oversized towel he took a deep moisture-filled breath. Ah, the difference a good shower could make. Kyle pushed his red hair, that insisted on flopping in his face, out of his eyes. The mirror squeaked as he rubbed the moisture off and reexamined himself. His pale face was now pink from his warm shower and his eyes, though still ringed with dark circles seemed to look more alive. Satisfied, Kyle made his way to his room. The dark dreams seemed so distant now and he embraced this good mood. _Maybe if I don't think about it, if I stay in a good mood, then maybe…_ He decided to start not thinking about it by leaving that thought hanging. No, it was going to be a good day. Even if it killed him.

***

Stan paced his room again and sighed. Fighting with Kyle always bothered him. He hated being on bad terms with his best friend. _Okay, so maybe I was a little harsh, but it's not like I think he's crazy or anything. Just…overreacting a bit. _

"It's only a nightmare." He muttered out loud. His mind drifted to earlier in the morning when Kyle had collapsed.

_"It's not just a dream…"_

Stan frowned. Of course it was a dream, what else could it be?

_"Kyle! Wake up!"_

And yet, if he had only been sleeping, why couldn't Stan wake him up?

_"He can get to me, even when I'm awake…"_

His frown deepened. Okay, he was willing to admit that if a nightmare could suddenly make him fall unconscious and not wake up it would be pretty frightening. Feeling bad for his lack of sympathy Stan decided to make it up to his friend. _Maybe I should go ask someone about this. It is a little weird._ Stan glanced at his clock. Only 3:00. He still had plenty of time. He would stop by the hospital on his way to video store. Glad to be doing something other than pacing he trotted down the staircase and headed for the front door.

"Where are you going, Stanley?" called Sharon from the kitchen.

"Just going to the movie store to pick up some stuff for tonight."

"I'm taking Shelley over to Jamie's house now, do you want a ride?" Sit in the car with his homicidal sister halfway across town?

"Uh, that's ok, mom. I'll walk." He hurried through the front door before his mom could push the matter. At least the weather was nice. Actually, it was a pretty good day for a walk and Stan was feeling downright cheerful until he approached Hell's Pass. The dark gray building loomed before him, dispersing any trace of cheerfulness. Stan hated hospitals with a passion. The smell, the atmosphere, it completely creeped him out. It was a place people went when they were dying. He had been here last Friday visiting Kyle after his friend's accident. It hadn't been the first time he'd gone to visit him in the hospital. The doctor already knew Kyle and his friends and family on a first name basis. Stan remembered the other times. When Kyle's kidneys had failed him. Stan shuddered at that one; it had been a close call. Then there was the time he'd had a hemorrhoid, and when he'd jumped off a roof. Stan shook his head and smiled at the memory. Once again, determined to prove Cartman wrong, Kyle had jumped off the roof, pretending to gain psychic powers after his head trauma in order to catch a killer. Kyle had practically solved the mystery, but the only person the police would listen to was the "psychic" Cartman.

"_I've heard cases where patients with head trauma awaken to some psychic abilities." Kyle mimicked, "What a load of crap." Stan decided not to mention the incident earlier that day when the lights had flickered and the nearby shelf had collapsed when his friend had yelled, "Stop!" There was really no point in arguing when the redhead was this worked up._

Stan frowned. Now that he thought about it, wasn't it right after Kyle's accident that his friend started having these dreams? _That wasn't the only time he's suffered head trauma._ Stan reminded himself.

"_He's recovering, but there's been some trauma to his brain. The boy says he's been hearing imaginary voices."_

During the whole Imaginationland fiasco, Stan had been sucked into Imaginationland and Kyle had ended up hospitalized. _After that, he could hear people from Imginationland in his head._ Stan recalled. _Maybe this latest injury is causing these bad dreams._ Stan realized he was standing in front of the hospital, probably looking retarded, just staring into space and thinking. He looked at the looming building again, his courage faltering. With a deep breath he pushed through the double doors.

***

"Kyle, you've been cooped up in the house all day, why don't you go outside? The weather is wonderful!" Kyle's dad scolded him.

"You can go buy some more milk!" called his mother. "You boys drank the last of it for breakfast!" Kyle logged off his computer and sighed. He didn't really mind though, he reflected as he made his way downstairs, he was willing to do anything keep his mind occupied. His mom handed him a five-dollar bill and practically shoved him out the door. He trudged down the sidewalk focusing his mind on the wonderful weather, the birds singing, and the sound of his footsteps crunching in the snow, anything but… No_! You're not going to think about that! This is a good day! A wonderful day! A great goddamn day!_

"This is going to be a long day." He muttered.

***

Stan settled into the overstuffed chair, still uncomfortable. The hospital smell still lingered in the office air, combined with a hint of Pine-Sol. The man behind the desk peered over his glasses at the uncomfortable boy.

"What can I do for you today, Stanley?"

"It's Stan." He muttered.

"I see. Okay Stan." said the man a little too agreeably. _This was probably a bad idea._ Thought Stan. _Oh well, you're here now, just get it over with._

"Well, my friend has a problem. He's been having bad dreams lately and he's really upset about it."

"I see. And what exactly is in these bad dreams that this "friend" has been having?"

"No, it really is my friend. I'm fine."

"I see. So what are these dreams about?"

"Um…mostly just this dark shadowy thing. It's really freaky though, apparently." Stan shrugged.

"I see. Does this "friend" have any stressful problems that he's dealing with right now? School pressure, bad relationship, problems with parents?" asked the man calmly peering at Stan.

"No, it's not me! It really is my friend who's having bad dreams." He argued.

"I see. Tell me Stanley," continued the man leaning in closer and apparently forgetting that Stan preferred the shortened version of his name, "How _is_ school going for you? Is it difficult?" _This guy is even more useless than I thought!_

"For Christ sakes _its not me_!"

"I see. Son, I've been doing this for a long time, and I know that when someone comes in here with a "friend's" problem, they really mean themselves." The man settled himself in his chair and looked down at Stan. _Curse you clichéd Hollywood scenes._ Stan silently swore.

"Look, the thing is, he recently hit his head and had some possible head trauma and ever since then he's been having these f**ked up nightmares. Do you think that they could be related?"

"I see. Well Stanley," the man said in an almost superior tone, "I think that would be entirely possible if this "friend" did indeed suffer from head trauma." Ignoring how quickly he was getting pissed off, Stan continued questioning the man.

"Okay, do you think it would be possible for this nightmare to get to you while you were awake? Like make you fall unconscious so no one can wake you up?" The doctor frowned at this.

"I don't think I see…I've never heard of such a thing before…" His ego seemed to take a bit of a hit at this admission. Stan frowned. It wasn't exactly the answer he had been looking for.

"Now, back to your "friend's" problems, Stanley." The doctor interrupted, clearly not liking the fact that this little kid was asking questions he didn't have answers for.

"IT'S MY FRIEND, NOT ME!" Stan yelled, "And my name is Stan!" _Screw this guy! I'm out of here!_ He hopped down from the chair and stormed out of the office.

***

"That will be $3.36," said the cashier. The tone in his voice suggested this was not the first time he'd said it.

"Oh, uh, right." Kyle handed him the bill and grabbed the jug of milk, heading for the door.

"Don't you want your change?"

"Right, sorry." He turned around and accepted the change. He tried to shove it in his jacket pocket, but ended up dropping it, coins flying in every direction. _Don't worry, this is a good day, a good day, you will not let this get to you._ He bit back an ironic laugh as he set down the milk jug and began to scoop up the change. Spying a quarter near the magazine rack, Kyle crawled over and was just about to reach for it when a heavy shoe fell on top of it. He followed the shoe with his eyes, up the leg, past the oversized girth and finally his gaze came to rest on the face. Any remote ideas that this was going to be a good day disappeared when a grin broke out on the pudgy face of the boy that stood before him.

"Well that's a first! A Jew losing money." grinned Cartman.

"Shut up, fatass." glared Kyle, straightening up.

"Hey Kahl, how do you get a Jew to win a race?" _Damn it Cartman, of all the places in the world, you had to be right here._ "You drop a penny at the finish line." He could feel the blood beginning to boil in his veins. _Just ignore him._ "What's faster than the speed of light?" Cartman continued, in a gloating manner. "A Jew when he hears the word 'free'." He grinned. Maybe it was the lack of sleep that was making Kyle so irritable today, he wasn't sure, but the next thing he knew he had shoved Cartman into the magazine rack and was standing above him, raining blows down on the larger boy.

"Ay!" grunted Cartman, as he kicked out. Kyle felt the larger boy's leg connect with his own and he tripped, flying into a display shelf. With a clichéd domino effect, the shelf knocked over the adjacent shelf, which caused the next shelf to fall and the next, and so forth. Kyle's nose throbbed from hitting the shelf and he hoped it wasn't broken.

"Stupid asshole!" He yelled, enraged. He flew at the smirking boy, determined to rip him to pieces. _Why is he smiling? Doesn't he realize I'm going to beat the shit out of him? _A firm hand clamped down on the back of Kyle's collar so hard he nearly gagged. He whirled around determined to give this asshole a piece of his mind. Until he saw that said asshole was 6'2 and looked like he ate little kids for breakfast.

"What the hell is this?" roared the man, his manager tag flapping against his formidable chest.

"Um…" squeaked Kyle, the will to fight disappearing.

"I will not tolerate this in my store!" The man's eyes bulged as he spoke. Under normal circumstances Kyle would have found this trait hilarious but in the current situation he could find no humor.

"He tripped me!" Kyle said desperately, pointing in Cartman's direction. The man's eyes narrowed and Kyle turned following his finger to a crushed magazine rack with no Cartman in sight. _I'm going to kill him. I'm going to f**king kill him._

***

Still fuming from the douche that called himself a doctor, Stan made his way down the sidewalk. He was so absorbed in his mental tirade against the man that he almost didn't even notice someone talking to him.

"Hey fag, I'm talking to you!"

"Oh, hey Cartman." Stan studied his friend suspiciously. Cartman looked like he was in a good mood, despite the fact that he had a black eye forming and a split lip. And a happy Cartman usually meant someone else was probably miserable. "You're still coming tonight to watch Terrance and Philip right?" Stan asked, cautiously.

"Of course," replied the large boy smoothly "Don't forget the Cheesy Poofs." With a jaunty wave Cartman continued past Stan who was still shooting him suspicious looks. _Ugh, I'm sure I'll hear about it soon enough. Probably when he appears on America's Most Wanted._ With a shake of his head the raven-haired boy walked into the convenience store to rent the movie and buy snacks for the night. _What the hell?_ The place looked like it had been hit by a hurricane. All the shelves were tipped over, spilling their contents throughout the whole store. In the middle of a pile of potato chips, holding a broom with a look that could kill and a bloody nose was Kyle. _Oh. Well that explains why Cartman was in such a good mood I guess._

"Uh…hey dude." He ventured. Kyle looked up at him.

"Can you believe that fat bastard?" Kyle hissed.

"Do I really want to know?" asked Stan, trying not to let out the smile that was tugging on the corners of his mouth.

"He's the one that tripped me into that stupid shelf!" His friend gestured wildly to the first shelf, "And then he just took off! I swear to God I'll kill him!" Kyle growled.

"He just tripped you and ran?" Stan asked, remembering the bruises on Cartman's face. Kyle's anger faded a bit, replaced by embarrassment.

"Uh…well, not exactly…I kinda pushed him into the magazine rack, but he asked for it!" he added vehemently. Stan glanced at the poor rack that was nearly crushed beyond recognition.

"Why do you let him get to you, dude?" Stan asked. Kyle sighed in annoyance.

"I don't know." Stan looked around, then lowered his voice.

"Why didn't you make a run for it too?" Before his friend could answer, a loud voice boomed out, causing both boys to jump.

"Keep cleaning!" A man that should've been an army general or something roared. He marched up to Kyle, glaring daggers at him.

"Do you think you're done? Stop your yakking and keep cleaning!" Kyle cringed, probably as much from the spittle that flew from the large man's mouth as the commanding tone of his voice.

"How many times have I told you to say it, not spray it, Doug." Sighed a voice behind the large man. The three all turned to the source of the voice. The younger two stared in surprise.

"Kenny?" They asked at the same time.

"Hey guys!" grinned the blonde. He looked totally different in an apron scrawled with the store logo than the parka-clad boy they were used to. The large man named Doug narrowed his eyes at Kenny, but the small boy didn't even seem to notice.

"I can take care of this, Doug. I've already finished with the stock room." Said Kenny with a dismal wave. There was a tense silence that Kenny seemed oblivious to.

"Fine." spat Doug. With a final glare at Kenny, who ignored the look anyway, he marched to a door marked 'Office' and slammed the door hard enough to shake the whole store.

"Damn Kenny." said Stan, unable to think of anything else.

"I didn't know you worked here," commented Kyle.

"Yeah," grinned Kenny, "I started last week. It's pretty cool to finally have some money."

"So, uh…that's your boss, huh?" Kyle glanced nervously at the door the mountain of a man had disappeared into.

"Oh yeah," said Kenny brightly "The other guys says he shows favoritism towards me, but I think he's just scared of me cuz I come back when he kills me." continued Kenny, cheerfully.

"He actually kills people?" Kyle's eyes widened.

"Only people that really piss him off." shrugged Kenny. "He gave up on me after the third time. Hey, you should get a job here!" He added to Kyle "I think he likes you!" Kyle just stared.

"Are you sure?" asked Stan

"Oh yeah, if he didn't, you would be dead by now." The blonde boy grinned cheerfully. Stan and Kyle swapped looks. Kenny had accepted the fact that he was destined to die a lot, but this sometimes made him forget that others were not so flippant about death.

"I-I think I'll pass." Kyle stuttered.

"Okay," shrugged Kenny "If you change your mind let me know. I'm sure you won't have too much problem finding a job here though. For some reason we tend to go through workers pretty fast here."

"Riiight." said Stan. "Well, I guess I'll head over to Marty's then to get a movie."

"Oh don't bother!" Kenny turned to pile of scattered products and dug around for a moment before pulling out a DVD case covered in shaving cream and spilled soda. "Here you go."

"Uh, thanks." said Stan, gingerly taking the case by a corner.

"No problem!" Kenny grabbed the broom from Kyle.

"Well, see you guys later. Oh, by the way Stan, I only get off at 8:00 tonight, so don't start the movie without me, ok?"

"Yeah, ok."

"Um, are you sure you don't want any help or anything?" Kyle asked, gesturing to the mess.

"Don't worry," shrugged Kenny, "I'm the one who's getting paid for this, I may as well take care of it."

"Uh, ok. Thanks Kenny."

"No problem, dude. You should go home and get some sleep, you look exhausted."

"Uh…right, ok." Kyle grinned, but Stan already knew he was lying. "Well, thanks again, Kenny. See you guys later."

***

He'd forgotten the milk. His mother yelled at him.

"Well what have you been doing the past hour? And where's the money I gave you?" Sheila asked, eyes piercing into his back.

"Uh…" Kyle scrambled through his tired brain, trying to think of an excuse. "I…dropped it. I was trying to find it, but it must have blown away." Good old brain. His mom pursed her lips in annoyance.

"Fine, I'll get it myself." She said, clearly flustered.

"I'm sorry, I can do it." _As long as Cartman doesn't show up. _He added mentally. With an over-exaggerated sigh his mom reached into her wallet and pulled out another five.

"Don't lose it." She said eyes narrowing at her son.

"Okay, thanks mom!" He called heading for the door before his mom could give him a proper lecture.

***

Arms loaded with chips and other snacks that Kenny had given to him for free; Stan pushed open the front door with his foot.

"Stanley is that you?" His mom called from the other room."

"Yeah mom, I'm back. He said, dumping his load on the coffee table in the living room. His mother walked into the room, eyeing the mountain of junk food critically.

"How much did you buy?" She questioned, "That must have cost a fortune."

"No, I got it for free because…well…uh they needed to restock the shelves so they were giving it away." Sharon narrowed her eyes.

"Stanley, I need to talk to you. Sit down." Stan could recognize the 'you're-in-trouble' look in his mother's eye.

"Are you having any troubles at school?"

"Huh?" he asked, completely confused.

"Is there anything you need to talk about?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I got a call from Dr. Walker from the hospital. He said you were in denial of your problems and apparently suffering from multiple personality disorder."

"Ugh!" Stan groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers.

***

"Kyle, honey, are you sure you want to go tonight?" his mother asked as Kyle tossed the last of his stuff into his backpack.

"Yeah, why not?" He asked. His mother frowned.

"Well, you look pretty awful buhbee, are you coming down with something?"

"No mom, I'm fine." He rolled his eyes at his mother's overprotective tendencies. _I'm not getting sick anyway. I'm just worried about some psychopath in my dreams, but I can't tell you about that, because you'll put me in an asylum._ "Really, I'm fine." He plastered on his fake smile, hoping it was convincing enough. Sheila didn't look convinced, but she didn't question him any further.

"Have fun then." She said, managing to plant a kiss on his cheek before he could get away.

"Ok, bye mom." He shouldered his backpack and shoved the sleeping bag under his arm. Honestly Kyle was glad Stan was having a party tonight. He still wasn't comfortable with the idea of falling asleep. _Not that it matters anymore._ He thought glumly. _I just don't get it. Why me? What did I ever do? Maybe I really am going crazy…_ He could feel tears start to prick the corners of his eyes again and quickly banished the thoughts. His backpack felt like it weighed a ton by the time he got to the Marsh house.

"Hey Kyle," Stan greeted him when he'd finally dragged himself up the steps.

"Hey." He said, trying to put some enthusiasm into his voice.

"Hey Kyle, I know that Cartman really pissed you off before, but do you think you could just ignore him tonight?"

"Huh?" Kyle racked his brain, trying to remember.

"You know," prompted Stan "At the convenience store?"

"Uh…" _Was that today?_ He wondered, his brain fuzzy.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry. I won't let him get to me."

"Okay," Said Stan suspiciously "Well, you can put your stuff in the living room. You're the first to get here, but we can't start the movie until 8:00." Kyle tried to concentrate on what his friend was saying but it was difficult. He tossed his stuff in front of the TV and looked at the couch, longing to flop onto its soft surface. He knew he would be asleep in seconds though if he let himself.

"Kyle?" Stan was waving a hand in front of his face.

"Huh?" He turned to meet his friends blue eyes that were currently full of worry.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"Maybe because you haven't slept for like two days." said Stan pointedly.

"So what, I'm fine." He said, trying to assure himself as much as his friend.

"Really. Then why did I have to ask you what you wanted to drink four times?"

"I…didn't hear you?" suggested Kyle. Stan leveled his gaze and crossed his arms.

"Look, maybe you really should go see a doctor," Stan held up a hand before Kyle could interrupt. "I mean a real doctor. Maybe this is all from your concussion." Kyle mulled the thought over in his head. Could it really be that simple? Were these nightmares just that? Were they merely simple dreams that could be explained by a bump on the head? _Oh God, I hope it's that simple. For once please let it be that simple._ He didn't have time to reply, because at that moment the doorbell rang. Stan gave him a final worried glance before going to the door.

"About damn time, I'm freezing my ass off out here!"

"Hi Cartman." Kyle heard his friend sigh. The latest guest wandered into the living room and seemed impressed by the formidable mountain of junk food. He noticed Kyle standing next to the table and grinned.

"Don't get too close to that Jewboy. We wouldn't you to fall and crush it all." Despite his promise to Stan, Kyle was picturing how good it would feel to strangle that fat neck. His fists clenched as he spoke.

"You tripped me, you asshole!"

"Now Kahl," said Cartman, innocently holding up his hands "No need to lie, we all know that Jews have such lousy balance. You shouldn't blame other people just because you're a no good dirty Jew."

"I'm going to kill you!" He screamed, leaping at the other boy, forgetting about the coffee table in the way. Kyle's knee smashed into the hardened wood and sent him sprawling on the ground, gasping in pain.

"Let me know how that works out for you." Cartman loomed above him grinning, clearly enjoying the other's pain.

"I'm…going…to…f**king…kill…you!" He hissed between spasms of pain. Stan hurried into the room, probably wondering about the loud crack that had resounded throughout the house when Kyle's knee had made contact with the coffee table. He put the cans of coke on the table and hurried to his friend who was still writhing in pain.

"Jesus Christ, what happened?" He asked, shooting a glare at Cartman.

"Ay! Don't blame me, Jewboy did it to himself."

"You okay?" Stan asked, concerned.

"Yup…fine." Kyle tried to keep from hissing out the words, but with screaming being the alternative, he couldn't help it.

"What happened?"

"Kahl decided he didn't like your coffee table and tried to destroy with his knee apparently." Cartman replied dismissively. He wandered over to the coffee table in question and helped himself to the coke. _I hate you so much!_ Kyle mentally screamed. He would have said the words out loud, but somehow doubted they would have the desired effect when he was screaming in pain.

"Do you think it's broken?" asked Stan worriedly.

"Dunno." He spoke quickly to prevent any screaming.

"Let's see." With every ounce of willpower summoned, Kyle slowly rolled up his pant leg. His knee was swelling like a colorful balloon.

"Can you move it?" Stan asked. Moving his knee was absolutely the last thing on the planet Kyle wanted to do. Okay, right next to falling asleep. He grit his teeth until his head hurt and slowly flexed his knee. Fresh waves of pain washed over him and he could feel the tears pricking his eyes again. _Hell no. I will not cry in front of that fat bastard._

"Well, okay, I guess it's not broken then." Stan was saying. "Do you want an ice pack or something?"

"Yeah, sure." He forced his voice to stay level, glancing at Cartman who had made himself comfortable on the couch. The overweight boy appeared to be ignoring him, but Kyle was sure he was dying of laughter on the inside. He would not give the fatass the satisfaction of knowing how badly his knee hurt. Stan returned with an ice pack and some Tylenol. He helped Kyle hobble to the couch and handed him the ice pack. Kyle winced as he propped his leg on the table and held back the cry of pain. Stan handed him the painkiller and a diet coke.

"Thanks Stan." He said, gulping the pill with a swig of pop.

"Yeah sure. Are you sure you're going to be alright? You don't need to go to the hospital?"

"No, I'm fine, it's not broken, remember?" He fought to keep a smile on his face.

"Okay…" Said Stan doubtfully. Kyle was almost grateful for the pain. It had woken him up and snapped him out of his dazed state. The doorbell rang again and Stan excused himself to answer it.

"Hey dude. I got off early! Cool, huh?" Kyle could hear Kenny grinning from the other room.

"Awesome!" Said Stan "We can start the movie then." Kenny came into the room, carrying his ratty sleeping bag.

"Hey guys." He said.

"About time you got here," grumbled Cartman "I'm sick of dealing with the stupid clumsy Jew and his boyfriend."

"No one said you had to stay, Cartman." Kyle replied with a glare. Cartman merely shrugged and made room on the couch for Kenny.

"What happened to you?" asked Kenny, glancing meaningfully at Kyle's knee.

"I told everyone Jews don't have any balance, why doesn't anyone remember that?" Cartman announced._ You are so lucky Kenny is sitting there._ Kyle fumed silently. Kenny glanced from Cartman to Kyle and seemed to draw enough of a conclusion from that. Stan reentered the room handing Kenny a coke and walked over to the DVD player. Wincing as he took the disc out of the sticky case he popped it into the player. Kyle settled himself into the couch, preparing for two hours of flatulent amusement.

***

When the movie had concluded Kyle tried to convince his friends to play a couple of rounds of heaven vs. hell on the game sphere.

"Are you retarded?" snorted Cartman "Kenny will kick all of asses!"

"Yeah dude, besides you suck at that game," pointed out Stan.

"Aw come on, guys!" grinned Kenny; always eager to show off the skills he'd used to save heaven from an invasion from the dark forces of hell.

"Hell no." said Cartman.

"I'm with Cartman on this one." shrugged Stan.

"I'll play." Kenny said.

"Okay." Kyle tried not to let the relief show too much in his voice. He'd been surprised by how hard it had been to stay awake during the movie and even had to poke himself in the knee a couple times to prevent himself from falling asleep. That damn Tylenol was doing its job; his knee had stopped throbbing and now only hurt if he touched it.

After three rounds in less than ten minutes Kenny threw down his controller in disgust.

"Dude, you can't be serious!" He said, turning to Kyle. "I didn't know it was even possible to suck this much at a video game." Kyle shrugged an apology and Kenny rolled his eyes.

"You slander the good name of heaven vs. hell." He proclaimed, sliding a different disc into the game sphere. Kyle mindlessly hammered buttons on the shooter game. He had most of the stages memorized and apparently Kenny's tendency of dying seemed to transcend to video games because Kyle had doubled Kenny's score in a matter of minutes. The normally easy-going boy was clearly getting frustrated as Kyle sniped him off yet again.

"Damn it! Screw this! I'm going back to heaven vs. hell after this round!" Kyle shrugged, not really caring as long as it kept him awake.

"Screw you guys, I'm going to bed," yawned Cartman. "And you assholes better keep it down."

"Cartman needs his beauty sleep." snickered Stan.

"Wow, do you really want him sleeping at your house for a week Stan?" Kenny asked innocently.

"Ha ha. You guys are so funny." Cartman growled. Stan joined them at the shooter game and helped Kenny's team. The score ended closely enough that Kenny was willing to go for another round. Stan and Kenny won by a mile that time. After a couple more hours Kyle noticed Stan struggling to keep his eyes open. He felt a pang of sympathy for his friend, knowing that the previous night's sleepover was the cause of his friend's tiredness.

"You should get some sleep, Stan." He commented. Stan looked up at him expectantly. _Oops, shouldn't have opened that topic up…_

"You're right Kyle. We should _all_ get some sleep." Stan said pointedly. Kenny yawned then shrugged.

"Okay, we can have our rematch tomorrow. I have to work in the evening so I should probably get some sleep." Stan's gaze remained on Kyle. He squirmed under the piercing blue stare.

"Do you need some help getting to your sleeping bag?" Stan asked. Kyle shook his head.

"No, I'm good. I think I'll just sleep on the couch."

"Dude, you have to get some sleep, this is killing you."

"I'll be fine." Neither he nor Stan was convinced by the words.

"Seriously dude, don't make me slip some sleeping pills in your coke or anything." Kyle gave a short laugh, but eyed his can nervously.

"You didn't though…right?" Stan sighed in exasperation.

"Kyle…" He hesitated then lowered his voice. "Look if this nightmare thing can get to you even when you're awake then it won't really matter if you get some sleep or not."

"But…" Kyle felt like he was being backed into a corner.

"Come on, we'll go see the doctor tomorrow and ask him about your concussion, just get some sleep. It's just a dream, its not like it can hurt you." Kyle bit his lip at the note of frustration in his friend's voice. In the nicest way possible he knew his friend was telling him to suck it up and quit being such a pussy. _Fine. I guess I can take one more night. _

"Okay." He said, defeated. Stan smiled gently.

"Okay, good night Kyle."

"Good night." He replied, miserably. He lay back on the couch and, against his better judgment, closed his eyes.

_He'd expected to toss and turn for a while, maybe rearrange his leg so his knee didn't hurt, but the effect was instantaneous. The second his lids snapped shut he felt like he was sucked into a world of blackness. He tried opening his eyes again but the darkness persisted. _Okay, maybe it won't be so bad this time. _Kyle knew he was lying to himself and his thoughts were confirmed when he felt a warm breath at the back of his neck. His hair stood on end and his heart skipped a beat before revving up to unnatural speeds. _

_"Hello Kyle." dripped the voice. "So glad you decided to join me. It saves me the trouble of having to come get you." He was shaking. _Why did I let Stan talk me into this? _He could feel the creature looming closer. He took a step forward to run. Pain shot through his knee and he fell to the ground, fighting tears. _

_"Aw, what's wrong? Can't run away?" A clawed hand snaked forward grabbing his forearm. The claws dug into his skin so hard he almost forgot about his knee. Four dots of blood formed where the claws pierced through Kyle's skin. The shadowed creature held him down and what Kyle assumed was a head lowered itself towards his head._

_"Finally." It breathed. The smell of rotting corpses assaulted his nose again and Kyle couldn't help but gag._

_"Wh-what do you want?" Under other circumstances Kyle would have been embarrassed by this pathetic squeak of a voice, but at the moment there were other matters pressing on his mind. _

_"Do you know how long I waited to find you? You are a link to the real world, just like all that time ago. I can finally make it through. All I need is the life force of one person and a host body. And you have so kindly provided me with both." Kyle's terrified mind could only make sense of one thing. _He's going to kill me. Oh shit, he's going to kill me. _The creature gave a low chuckle and Kyle felt a glob of drool hit his cheek. It rolled down his cheek and had a strange smell, almost like…blood. He was too petrified to move. _Wake up! Wake up! _His mind screamed. Some part of him told him to struggle, run, scream, ANYTHING! He couldn't. He could feel a hot breath on his neck as the despicable creature opened its mouth…_

_"Nooooo!" His body seemed to come back to life. He kicked and twisted, screaming until his lungs begged for air. _Wake up damn it! _He wrenched his right arm free of the clawed hand, screaming louder when claws raked down his arm. _Please wake up…

_"No!" yelled the beast. Kyle could feel droplets of blood-ridden drool shower his face. He took a deep breath and screamed again._

"What the f**k!" Kyle felt rough hands shove him away and he blinked blearily and noted that he had rolled off of the couch and apparently on top of Cartman.

"Jesus Kahl, do I look like your faggy boyfriend? Stay off of me!" Cartman looked seriously pissed. Stan and Kenny stared at Kyle.

"Are you okay?" Stan ventured.

"You were screaming. We thought you were being murdered or something." Kenny explained. That would explain his raw throat. Kyle glanced at his friends, trying to get his heart back under control.

"It grabbed me. It was going to kill me." He whispered to Stan, not caring about the funny look Kenny gave him and not even wanting to look at Cartman.

"Kyle?" said Kenny in a strange voice. The frightened boy turned to his friend. "You're…you're bleeding." He was suddenly aware of a sharp pain in his right forearm. _No way. No f**king way._ He rolled up his sleeve. Kenny gasped. Stan turned pale. Even Cartman had no comment. Kyle did not want to look down. He knew what he would see. His stomach churned and he knew he was going to be sick. He got up swiftly and hobbled, ignoring the hot flashes of pain from his knee, to the bathroom. He leaned over the white toilet and proceeded to empty the contents of his stomach, finally glancing at his arm. Near his elbow there was the distinct imprint of a gaunt claw-like hand, each of the four fingers ending in a point of blood. Four long marks down his arm, made by claws, were slowly starting to ooze blood. _No, this isn't possible._ Kyle groaned, sinking to a sitting position on the cold tile floor. _Why? Why couldn't it have just been that simple? Why…_ His nearly empty stomach did another flip and he leaned over the toilet again.

Well. I lied. For those of you who have any sense of length at all, this is NOT shorter than my first chapter, despite what I said. In fact, it's like twice as long. :)I am a terrible person. Oh well. The reason this chapter turned out so long was because of all that extra stuff I put in there in the middle. All that stuff with that moron psychiatrist (I know it was really lame), and the whole incident with Kenny (I just felt like he was being neglected as a character) hadn't even been in my original story plan. Honestly the only part I was planning on including in this chapter was the last scene at Stan's house. And even that turned out longer than I first expected. This chapter pretty much wrote itself. Yeah, so let me know if you guys liked:) Reviews make me happy. Also if you have any questions I would be happy to answer them. I'm not very good at having things make sense so if anyone is like 'what the hell was that about?' I would be happy to clarify. Anyway, I'm going to get some sleep again because I have school in 4 hours. Good night!


	3. Chapter 3

I love you guys so much! XD. I read your reviews right before I went to work today and I was in such a good mood for the rest of the day:D. A special thanks to JoyHeart for such a nice review and I do plan on finishing, cuz I just can't stand it when I read a great fic and then find out that the writer isn't even going to finish it DX. So yeah, as long as one person wants me to keep writing, I will:). Thanks again to everyone who made my day awesome!Wow, despite how badly I wanted to write this chapter, it was surprisingly difficult to start. There's just one thing I really need to clear up for this chapter. No, it is not a slash fic. I'm sure if you try, you can make it into one, but I had no intention of making it one when I wrote this chapter. This idea just kind of appeared to me and I couldn't help but fit it into this story. Okay, now that that's out of the way, on with the story.Chapter 3

Kyle felt a reassuring hand on his back as his stomach insisted on emptying anything left in it. His raw throat burned from the bile. Stan wordlessly handed him a section of toilet paper.

"Thanks dude." muttered Kyle weakly, wiping off his mouth.

"Yeah…" Stan was still looking at the claw marks on his arm. "Uh…do you want me to get the first aid kit?" Kyle could tell his friend was pretty much at a loss for what to do so he simply nodded. Stan stood quickly; glad to be doing something useful. Kyle's eyes dropped to the cold tile of the bathroom floor, following the swirling pattern with his eyes. _So. What do I do now? Hi Mr. Doctor, I've been having these nightmares. Oh, I know everyone has nightmares once in a while, I guess the part that concerns me is the part where it comes true and I wake up with claw marks on my arm. Stings like a bitch too._ He could feel the tears starting to prick his eyes again. _Goddamn it!_ He swiped angrily at his eyes. He hated feeling so helpless. Hated it. It was a hatred that had grown over the years of constantly being sick and bedridden, with nothing to do but hope his body was strong enough to fight off whatever virus was plaguing him at the time. It was the reason for his determination to do well in school, to not let others walk over him, to stand up so firmly for his beliefs and to kick Cartman's ass when the fat asshole ripped on him. But none of that mattered now. There was nothing he could do, it was just like being sick again, except that all the fluids and bed rest in the world wouldn't do shit.

"Goddamn it!" He growled, fiercely wiping the tears before they could spill. He was not going to break down. He was going to find a solution to this, one that didn't involve dying. Kyle's mind wandered to that thought. _I wonder what everyone would think…my mom would throw a huge fit…Ike would probably miss me…and…_ He choked on the thought, tears finally making it down his face. _Damn it…_ He heard Stan coming from the kitchen and quickly snatched the roll of toilet paper, scrubbing the persistent moisture from his eyes.

***

He'd been crying. He did a pretty good job of trying to hide it when Stan walked in, but when you knew a person since preschool it was fairly hard to hide anything from them. Stan could hardly blame him. _This is some seriously f**ked up shit. _He silently bandaged his friend's arm, wondering what was going on in his head.

"Are…are you okay?" He finally asked, the silence becoming too awkward. He regretted the words as soon as he said them. _What kind of dumbass question is that? Would you be 'okay' if you just woke up from a nightmare only to find freaking claw marks on your arm?_

"Not really." replied his friend, eyes still on the tile, no doubt so Stan couldn't see his expression. The awkward silence stretched on. Stan tried to think of anything comforting to say, but was at a loss. Fortunately he was saved by a holler from the kitchen.

"Hey fags! If you're done making out, get your asses back down here! I'm hungry!" Stan rolled his eyes.

"Only Cartman could be hungry at-" He glanced at his watch "-3:30 in the morning." Kyle snorted in agreement.

"You should probably eat something too." Stan added.

"I guess. I'm really not that hungry though."

"You should still eat something," Stan insisted, "You haven't been eating well all week already."

"Fine." Kyle scrambled to his feet only to fall against the wall, face turning pale.

"You okay?" Stan asked anxiously.

"…Yeah…just a little…fuzzy…" Kyle mumbled. Clearly a week without substantial sleep or food was taking a toll on his body. Stan offered his shoulder for support, which Kyle gratefully accepted. The pair slowly made their way to the kitchen.

***

"Dude, you look like shit." Kenny observed. Kyle rolled his eyes.

"No kidding." He plopped into the nearest chair, exhausted. Cartman's head popped out from behind the refrigerator door where it had previously been buried.

"How come you don't have any decent food in this place?" He demanded.

"Cartman, there's like a mountain of junk food in the living room." Stan said wearily. Cartman snorted.

"Food disappears fast when you invite poor people over." He shot a meaningful glare at Kenny who just shrugged it off.

"Not to mention greedy fatasses." Kyle muttered.

"Ay! I'm big-boned not fat, get it right Jew!" Kyle sighed, not in the mood to argue.

"It's all gone?" Stan asked incredulously. Kenny shrugged again. "How can you be hungry after all that?"

"I'm a growing boy," Cartman answered, "I need food."

"Yeah, you're growing all right. Pretty soon you'll be taller lying down then standing up." Kenny grinned. Stan laughed and Kyle couldn't help but join in.

"Ay! I don't have to take that from a poor piece of shit!" Cartman growled. Kenny kept grinning anyway.

"Your stomach will just have to wait until tomorrow." Stan said with a shrug. "Everything is closed until at least 6."

"Dominos isn't." The large boy pointed out.

"Yeah, but they don't deliver after midnight." Kenny added.

"So? We'll walk." Cartman said determinedly.

"You can't be serious." Stan narrowed his eyes at Cartman who had settled himself in a chair across from Kyle. "It's only a few hours until morning. You can wait until then." Cartman sighed in frustration then grinned.

"What about Jewboy? Poor Kahl, he looks like he could fall over any minute without food. Pizza. Extra cheese." Kyle glared across the table.

"Actually, I'm fine thanks." He ignored the growling in his newly vacated stomach. Okay, pizza didn't sound totally awful, but his determination not to let Cartman use him to get what he wanted won out. Stan didn't look convinced, and bit his lip in indecision. _Aw crap, now he's considering it._

"I don't have any money for pizza anyway." He said slowly. Cartman shrugged. He could tell he was winning the argument.

"We can just use Kyle's Jew gold." Kyle rolled his eyes in exasperation. This was why it was a bad thing for Cartman to be right. He never let people forget it.

"I can cover it," Kenny piped up, "Actually pizza sounds pretty good right about now."

"_You're_ hungry too?" Stan asked in disbelief. The blonde shrugged and grinned.

"It's pizza, dude." Stan rolled his eyes.

"Fine." Cartman grinned victoriously and waddled over to the phone. He dialed the number and waited impatiently at the ring tone.

"Yes, I'd like to place an order please." Cartman said when someone on the other end finally picked up "Three extra large ham and pineapple pizzas, extra cheese." Kyle rolled his eyes.

"Cartman, we were ordering pizza for all of us. Make one without ham, asshole!" Stan ordered. Cartman gave an exasperated sigh.

"Okay another extra large with pepperoni and bacon."

"Ugh." Kyle felt like slamming his head on the table.

"Cartman!"

"_Fine!_ One more extra large, with pepperoni. Yes. Okay. All right we'll be there to pick it up in 20 minutes. Okay. $85.59? Yes that's fine." Kenny's eyes widened at the amount.

"Uh…"

"…Okay. The name is Eric Cartman. Okay. Okay, bye." Cartman hung up the phone and looked at Stan.

"Well, you better get going, the pizza will get cold if you don't get there in 20 minutes."

"What?" Stan frowned "The order is under your name, you're coming with us."

"All the way across town? Hell no." The pudgy boy settled himself back into a chair. "I'm not walking that far, asshole."

"What?! This was your idea fatass! I wanted to wait until morning!" Stan fumed. Cartman merely shrugged.

"Better hurry. I hate cold pizza, don't you?" Cartman taunted. Kenny sighed.

"Come on, he's not going to move and his fat ass would only slow us down anyway, besides," he added with an evil grin, "this means we get first pick of the pizza."

"Don't eat all the ham and pineapple poor boy!" Cartman growled.

"I'm paying for it, I think I should be entitled to eat as much as I want!" Kenny shouted in reply.

"You offered." Cartman pointed out. Kenny only glared in reply. With a final glare at Cartman, Stan turned to leave.

"You are such an asshole Cartman." Kyle sighed as he climbed to his feet.

"Dude, you're not coming with us." Stan told him.

"What?" Kyle frowned, steadying himself with the table.

"The last thing we need is for you to pass out on us; I'm not carrying you and five extra large pizzas." Kenny added.

"Guys, I'm fine." Kyle tried desperately. The last thing in the world he wanted was to be stuck in the same place as…

"No way you're leaving that dirty Jew behind, I don't want to be stuck here with a Jesus-killer while you guys stuff your faces with my pizza."

"_Your_ pizza?" asked Kenny furiously.

"You could always come with us." Stan told him, slipping on his jacket.

"Screw you guys, I'm staying here." Cartman folded his arms stubbornly across his chest.

"Please don't leave me here." Kyle shot his friend a desperate look.

"Forget it, Kyle. You can hardly walk to the living room, let alone across town." _Some best friend._ He thought, defeated.

"We'll be back soon." Kenny assured them, closing the door behind him. _Well if I have to be in the same house as Cartman, the least I can do is be in a different room._ Kyle slowly made his way to the living room, still hobbling from his knee. He could hear Cartman still in the kitchen, muttering to himself and rummaging through the cabinets. With a sigh, Kyle dropped on the couch. His eyes wandered to his bandaged wrist.

_"All I need is the life force of one person…"_

Kyle shuddered. The villainous voice played in his mind again.

_"You are a link to the real world, just like all that time ago…"_

What did it mean by that? Kyle frowned. _All that time ago? I've never seen this creature before in my life._ He knew he would have remembered. _A link to the real world…a link from where?_ He was actually pretty surprised he remembered the conversation, considering he had been scared out of his mind at the time. _What…_ He was interrupted mid-thought by a splitting headache. Kyle groaned as the pain intensified. He could feel himself slipping into unconsciousness. _No…please…_

_"Give it up. You cannot escape."_

"No…" he groaned, fighting to stay awake. His head felt like a construction crew was going to work on his brain.

_Just give in and it will be over…"_ The pain was unbearable; he let himself slip into the depths of unconsciousness to escape the intense throbbing.

***

"Greedy, self-centered, fatass bastard!" Kenny growled, muttering an insult for every bill he counted out. Stan watched sympathetically. He wanted to help out, but on a $5 per week allowance, there was only so much he could save. And most of his money had recently gone to the purchase of a new video game. It was probably a good thing the teen holding their pizzas couldn't understand Kenny's muffled mutterings, Stan reflected. Finally the parka clad boy handed the money to the pimple-faced teen.

"Okay, $4.41 is your change and here's your pizza." Kenny collected his change and took three of the boxes handing the other two to Stan. With the steaming cheesy pizza inches from his nose, Stan was finding it extremely difficult to remember why he had thought this was such a bad idea. They exited the Domino's building and the cool fall air washed over the two boys. The pizza suddenly felt heavy in his arms as Stan considered the long walk back home. _Oh yeah, that's why. Cartman, I swear I'm going to kill you._

***

Unaware of the death threats his friends were wishing upon him, Cartman closed the last cupboard with a sigh.

"Those assholes better not eat all the pizza." He growled to himself. With nothing better to do he wandered into the living room. He noticed Kyle slumped on the couch, apparently fast asleep. _I thought he didn't want to sleep. _He studied the smaller boy who seemed to be sleeping peacefully enough.

***

_Every step hurt worse than the last. His knee was going to give out soon. Kyle risked a glance over his shoulder and wished he wouldn't have. It had grown. That was the first thing he noticed. The shadowy beast was now almost three times as tall as him. With a terrible shriek the creature reached out a grotesque hand. Kyle couldn't move fast enough and the hand caught his leg causing him to trip. He stumbled forward, landing face first on the hard ground. His nose throbbed painfully, and he could feel the warm wetness pouring from it. Kyle's palms burned from skidding to a stop but neither of these pains was prominent on his mind, as the creature loomed closer._

***

"What the…?" Cartman stared as Kyle's nose began to drip blood. He briefly wondered if it was still from their encounter at the store before, but it didn't seem likely. The sleeping boy no longer looked peaceful, his face twisted in obvious pain. _This is pretty f**ked up._

***

_Kyle tried to crawl away. He knew it was a vain attempt but maybe if he could avoid the creature long enough he would be able to wake up again. _

_"I'm not giving you that chance this time." The voice oozed with loathing._

***

Kyle's sleeping form twitched, clearly in pain. Cartman frowned and stepped closer.

"Hey. Wake up, Jew." He gingerly poked the sleeping boy. Kyle didn't respond. Cartman's frown deepened. He would never admit to anyone, but he often suffered from…unpleasant dreams. With the morbid images that flashed through his twisted mind every time he closed his eyes it was pretty impossible not to be disturbed once in a while. Sympathy was not something Eric Cartman normally experienced, but in this case he could at least relate to the horrors of nightmares.

"C'mon wake up you stupid fag." He muttered, prodding the still figure again.

***

_The horribly twisted hand shot out faster than he could react and Kyle was again reminded of how much the evil thing had grown when the hand covered his chest, gaunt fingers curling over his shoulders and digging deep enough to draw blood. The shadowy beast had pinned him to the ground and was putting a painful amount of weight on his chest. He gasped, trying to pull in a breath._

***

"Come on, asshole, wake up." Cartman was shaking Kyle's shoulder when he realized his hand was wet and sticky. _What the hell…?_ He looked at his palm and his eyes widened when he recognized the red liquid. Blood seeped out of the sleeping boy's shoulders staining his shirt. _Damn…_

***

_He couldn't breathe. The shadowy beast was squeezing the life out of him. Literally. The red eyes gleamed and the thing chuckled darkly giving Kyle a good look at the blood-drenched teeth._

_"Soon your life will be mine." Kyle's mind raced wildly. _Oh shit my lungs hurt…air…please…I need…oh God…air…

***

He wasn't breathing.

"Damn it Kahl, breathe you dumb Jew!" Cartman growled, quelling the worry in his voice. He pounded the still figure's chest, hoping to hear the gasp of breath. _Moron._ He scolded himself. _CPR is to restart the heart, not breathing. For breathing you have to…oh hell no!_

***

_It was almost a relief to see the horrible face start to fade from his view. It would have been more of a relief it Kyle didn't know it meant he was dying. _…No…please………let me…let me breathe…get off………air…please………oh God…please…

***

_Oh God let there be some other way. Please. Anything. Not that…_ Cartman grit his teeth in disbelief. _Why can't that goddamn Jew take care of himself for once in his life? Son of a bitch, I have to do everything! _He glared at the door. _I swear to God if those two assholes walk in…_ Cartman heaved a huge sigh. _Damn I hate you Kyle._ He leaned closer to the unconscious figure.

***

_At first he thought the creature had lifted himself off his chest allowing him to breathe. That explanation made no sense of course, but hell, at this point there were very few things in his life that made sense. Somehow though, he managed to draw a breath even though the shadowy beast still had him pinned. Kyle was too grateful to even question it. His lungs were flooded with relief and his vision snapped back. That was the only thing he was less-than-grateful for, because the evil creature was not pleased with the fact that he was still alive. _

_"How are you still alive?" The vile thing hissed, bathing Kyle in its horrid breath. The claws clenched tighter, digging deeper into his shoulder blades. Kyle cried out in pain, unable to stop himself. The creature was starting to fade from reality again, but this time Kyle knew it was because he was waking up. He had avoided death again. The beast shrieked furiously._

_"No! This time you're mine!" The claws refused to let go and the second gaunt hand grabbed his arm so tightly Kyle felt it when the bone cracked. The creature leaned heavily on his chest, determined to kill him. This time Kyle heard the crack as well as felt it. Pain flooded throughout his entire body. Someone was screaming. It was a terrible scream, filled with pain and fear. _Oh shit. I think that's me…

***

There was a loud crack. Cartman frowned. _What was that?_ A couple more cracks sounded. _Why is his arm at that funny angle…son of a bitch…_ Cartman was jolted from his line of thought by Kyle's sudden return to consciousness, which was accompanied by the loudest scream Cartman had ever heard in his life. He leapt back in surprise, almost tripping over the coffee table.

***

He was awake. And alive. Those two thoughts were enough to make Kyle extremely grateful, despite the intense pain flooding his body. Kyle had never broken a bone before and he'd never imagined the amount of pain it would cause. His whole body seemed to pulse with the pain. He could hear his heartbeat in his head and taste blood in the back of his throat. He bit his lip to keep from screaming again.

"Cartman, I swear to God I'm going to kill you for this." Kyle could distantly hear Stan's voice from the other room as he and Kenny returned with the pizzas.

"Seriously dude, who the hell wants pizza…" Stan trailed off when he noticed Kyle on the couch, drenched in blood. Kyle noted his shoulders seemed to be making quite a mess.

"What the hell?! Kyle, are you alright?" His friend nearly dropped the boxes he was holding. Instead he quickly passed them off to Kenny and hurried to his friend's side.

"Yeah…I'm okay…" He muttered weakly. _Shit, why does breathing have to hurt so much?_ Stan stared at him incredulously.

"What the hell happened to you?"

"I fell asleep." He answered darkly. Stan swallowed eyes still as big as saucers.

"I think you need to go to the hospital…right now, you look awful." _Ugh. I think he's right. Damn my chest hurts. _Despite the pain though, Kyle was grateful just to be able to breathe. The desperate feeling of breathlessness was still too vivid in his mind. Kyle noted that he had apparently bitten his lip hard enough to draw blood. He licked his lips cleaning off the blood and frowned. _Why do I taste Cheesy Poofs? _He shot a glance at Cartman who seemed absorbed in his investigation of the pizza boxes_…Nevermind. I REALLY don't want to know. _ Kyle felt something wet in the back of his throat and coughed, trying to clear his windpipe. _Holy shit that f**king hurts! _His mind screamed. He may have spoken the words aloud, but he realized the more he coughed the more wet stuff was coming up making him cough all the more. He squeezed his eyes shut against the pain. _Oh God that hurts…please make it stop…ow! Damn it…_

"Kenny!" Stan called worriedly, "Call an ambulance, he's coughing up blood!" _I am? Oh. I guess I am. Aw crap, I think that's bad isn't it? Shit it hurts…huh, I got blood all over the couch. That's probably going to stain. Mrs. Marsh isn't going to be happy when she gets home…_ Someone was calling his name, but it sounded so far away._ Stan? Is that you? _He blinked blearily. Stan's worried face was staring at him, desperately trying to get his attention.

"…yle, just hang in there, Kenny's calling an ambulance okay? Just hang in th…" _Ambulance? Why? I'm fine, in fact it doesn't even hurt anymore, isn't that great? Everything is going to be okay; you're just worrying about nothing. Obviously it can't be too bad or it would hurt more right? I feel perfectly fine, I…wait, maybe it doesn't hurt because I'm dying… Huh._ Somewhere in his mind Kyle knew he should feel scared about dying. He knew he should be in mass amounts of pain right now and scared shitless. But he wasn't. _I guess this really is the end then… I really wish I didn't have to die yet. _Somewhere far away he could hear the wail of a siren. It was far away, but really annoying. _Can someone please turn that down? It's giving me a throbbing headache._

"-yle! Don't you dare die on me!…"

"-upid Jew! Wake up assho…"

"-ost a lot of blood…"

"…Stay out of the way kids!…"

"…stretcher and oxygen, stat…"

"-ritical conditio-"

"-we're losing him!…"

"…"

"…"

And then there was blackness.

**Whoo! Chapter 3 done! So yeah, this chapter gave me a wicked craving for two things. Number One: Pizza. Lol. Number Two: A desire to write the next chapter. I can't stand cliffhangers. No really, it pains me to write cliffhangers almost as much as to read them. The only thing I hate more than a cliffy is an author who decides to stop writing a fic after an epic cliffhanger. XO. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO frustrating! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Have I told you guys how much u rock yet? 3 :) XD: D etc. Seriously, the reviews I got for the last chapter almost made me pop with happiness. I only managed to stop myself from exploding by considering the mess that would make on my computer. And then I would have to clean it up instead of continuing this story. Lol. Anywho, thanks again, I love you all! To Miluki : I would like to apologize for using the same title name:) I'm actually trying to think of a different title for this story, but I just suck at titles. To thecuriousoracle: I hate cliffhangers too. Trust me it really hurt me to leave it there. XO. To my most faithful reviewer JoyHeart: Wow, I never really thought of that, but you're right. Man I'm sadistic…huh…ah well. XD. And thank you for the good advice, I am trying to favor quality over update speed, but right now I'm so into this story I'm practically typing it every night. :D. I really enjoyed your Mysterion drabble by the way :). To all the rest of you who took the time to read my story and tell me your opinion on it (this concept still floors me by the way): THANK YOU I LOVE YOU ALL SOO MUCH IT'S SCARING ME!**

**Wow, I was pretty surprised at how strongly you guys all felt about Kyle not dying. I'd probably do the same though XD. Well anyway, on with the story! (I'm not giving any story hints for this chapter. Read it. XP)(I do apologize for how slowly it moves though, trust me, it hurt me too OX)**

**Sorry about how long it took. I had homework, tests yada yada you know the usual excuses. Oh, and my mom confiscated my computer cuz she thought I was staying up all night writing. Silly mom. O_o**

**Chapter 4**

Despite the fact that he had just walked halfway across town twice that night already, once carrying half a ton of pizza that was now growing cold on the Marsh's living room floor, Kenny didn't even hesitate to join Stan when his friend announced he was walking to the hospital. Those asshole paramedics wouldn't let him or Stan ride in the ambulance to the hospital and since Stan's parents were out of town for the weekend, they were stuck with only one mode of transportation: Left foot and right foot. Cartman had opted for staying at Stan's house and "guarding the pizza". _Bastard. I paid for it and now I probably won't even get any. _Stan was completely distraught. He was out the door in only his pajamas before Kenny suggested he get his coat. The second time Stan bolted out, Kenny suggested he should probably put on some shoes. The third time Kenny sighed and recommended he would probably get there faster if he went the right way. He tried not to feel too offended. There had hardly been this level of panic any of the times he had died. _There's a big difference. _He had to remind himself. _You come back._ Kenny constantly had to remember that for others who did not defy the laws of nature, death was final. It was an irreversible darkness that ripped the soul of humanity from this earth permanently. The blonde haired boy frowned. Okay, looking at it that way made him began to worry about his friend's well being as well. He ran to catch up with Stan who was making a left turn when he was supposed to go right.

***

They were both seriously out of breath by the time they made it to the hospital. Stan looked like he might have an asthma attack which would not be good since Kenny had no doubt his friend had left his inhaler at home. _Then again, I guess we are in a hospital, so if he did forget it, well…they probably have spares kicking around here somewhere. _

"Can…you…tell me…where Kyle…Brof…lovski is?" Stan panted to the meek looking receptionist. She glanced down and after a brief silence punctuated only by the _tik tik_ of fake nails on a keyboard, looked up again.

"He's been taken to surgery right now." She replied, "Are you family?"

"Well no, but…"

"Then you won't be able to see him for some time. He'll be in surgery for at least an hour yet."

"Is he going to be okay?" Kenny couldn't help but interrupt. The silence was the most deafening thing Kenny had ever heard. It seemed to grow louder with every second that passed.

"It's hard to tell at this point." The receptionist finally replied, pushing a stray strand of mousy hair behind her ear. "I'm afraid you boys will just have to wait." She gestured to the empty waiting room. Stan looked like he might protest, but finally nodded in numb agreement.

***

Stanley Marsh was convinced that waiting rooms were God's punishment on him for some sin he must have committed. Honestly, there was nothing more tortuous he could imagine then waiting in that uncomfortably plushy chair, playing the images over and over in his mind. And worrying. _What if he dies? Oh God, I don't think I could stand that. _And then the evening would play over in his mind again. His friend slipping away, eyes slowly closing for what could be the last time…_F**k I hate waiting rooms!_ Had it not been for Kenny, Stan was sure he would have gone insane, ripping up the too-comfy chairs and screaming.

"How did it happen?" Kenny's baby blue eyes held a serious note that Stan had not seen before. He found himself spilling everything out to his friend. For his part, Kenny was a good listener; he looked riveted as Stan explained the events of the week.

"Dude." Kenny breathed when Stan had finished. "That is f**ked up." Stan nodded miserably.

"I know." The silence stretched on, Stan's mind drifting back to worst-case scenarios. Despite the thoughts plaguing his mind however, Stan could feel his eyelids begin to droop lazily. It had been a long night already. He could hear Kenny snoring softly on his left. _I'll just rest my eyes for a little while I guess…_ Before he could even finish the thought he was sound asleep.

***

_Ugh, why does my neck hurt so much?_ He groggily blinked, lifting his head. Testing his sore neck muscles Stan examined his surroundings. _What the hell? Where am I?_ The night's events came crashing back to his bleary mind and he snapped to a sitting position. The waiting room, which had been completely empty when he'd closed his eyes, was now uncomfortably full of people. His mother, who was sitting in the chair next to him, smoothed down a stray strand of hair that had escaped his poofball hat.

"Hey honey." She said softly. Stan glanced around the room, his tired mind trying to take in everything at once. The Broflovskis sat in one corner, Ike sleeping soundly in Sheila's arms. Gerald and Sheila murmured softly to each other, casting quick looks at Stan once in a while. Stan was surprised to see Cartman in the waiting room along with his mom. He was less surprised to see the open box of pizza on the large boy's lap. Kenny was standing in front of him, looking like he wanted to strangle something. Cartman licked his fingers and tossed the empty box towards the fuming boy in front of him. And then there were his parents. Stan knew they had just come back from a refreshing, relaxing night at the spa. Unfortunately it didn't show. His mother's eyes had dark circles underneath and her short hair, which had been styled artfully with gel, was plastered at awkward angles across her head. His father was passed out in one of the chairs, snoring loudly and drooling slightly. Stan glanced up at the clock that seemed to be the focal point of the room. 6:30am. They had been escorted to the waiting room at 4:30am.

"How's Kyle?" Those words seemed to make the whole room freeze. The silence hurt like a knife.

"Well, he's out of surgery, but they have him on life support right now…" His mother trailed off and Stan swallowed.

"Er…Stan." Gerald cleared his throat. "We were wondering if you could tell us _what_ happened exactly. All we were told was that Kyle was in surgery for several broken ribs and probable internal bleeding." Stan's mind raced. _Oh crap, what do I say?_

"We asked Kenny, but he didn't know; he said we were supposed to ask you." Sheila put in. Stan spared his friend a withering glare before turning back to the sea of curios eyes. Kenny only shrugged. He had been getting a lot of evil glares lately and was getting pretty good at ignoring them. _What should I tell them? The truth? _He immediately discarded that idea, preferring not to be restrained by a straight jacket. _Um…fell down the stairs? Yeah right. Well, when all else fails…_

"I don't know." _Go with what works._ His mom was not convinced by his answer. He could see it in her eyes. She let it go though, much to Stan's relief. Gerald didn't look like he was as willing to let Stan's obvious lie slide. He had just opened his mouth to call Stan's bluff when the doctor walked in. Everything else was immediately forgotten and all eyes were riveted to the weary man in scrubs.

"Well, we were able to stop the bleeding. Physically, he should make a full recovery." There wasn't a person in the room that had missed the first word in the man's second sentence. There was a collective silence, as everyone in the room seemed to be holding their breath.

"At the moment however, he appears to be in a comatose state."

"But…he's going to wake up, right?" Stan asked, sharing a nervous glance with Kenny. The man sighed, clearly not enjoying his current job.

"It's always hard to tell with coma patients. It could be a couple of hours, several days, weeks, even years or…" _Never._ Stan finished in his mind.

"Can we see him now?" Sheila echoed Stan's thoughts out loud. The doctor nodded and gestured for them to follow him. Sharon held out her arms and Sheila gratefully passed her sleeping son to Stan's mother.

"No more than four please." The doctor said softly. "It is technically before visiting hours and most of the patients in that wing will be sleeping." Sheila nodded at Stan and Kenny who quickly hopped from their seats and followed the doctor and Kyle's parents. Stan swore the doctor was walking as slow as possible just to torture him. The group meandered down the hallway to the elevator where they spent another eternity waiting, the flashing yellow button with "Floor 2" seeming to taunt him. Finally the doctor stopped and gestured to a slightly ajar door. Putting a finger to his lips as a final reminder, the weary man left them. For the longest moment the only sound Stan could hear was the tired footsteps of the doctor making his way down the hall. Slowly the footsteps faded and he became aware of the soft beeping of machinery from the room. He took comfort in the steady tone, knowing that it meant his friend's heart was still beating. He looked dead. It was the first thought that came to Stan's mind and stayed there like an annoying relative that insists on spending the night. Kyle's face was as pale as the pillow his head rested on. His arm was in a sling and his whole upper torso was wrapped in bandages. Sheila was stroking her son's face and Stan could tell she was trying very hard not to lose it. The somber atmosphere was affecting all of them. Stan had never seen Kenny's carefree eyes so full of worry and seriousness. Stan edged closer to the bed, fighting back his own dark thoughts. _Please wake up. Don't you dare die dude; you can't die until I do, remember? Come on Kyle…_ Stan could feel the familiarity of the situation weigh heavily on him. It was the same feeling of helplessness, just like when Kyle had been dying and needed a kidney transplant. Unfortunately the only match in South Park was a racist, greedy, anti-Semitic asshole also known as Eric Cartman. _But it all worked out. _Stan thought desperately. _We managed to trick him into signing the release form. There has to be a way for this to work out…Kyle you can't die…_ Stan felt the lump starting to form in his throat and fought it back down. Kenny placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. Stan raised his eyes to his friend's face. _Please…wake up._ Kyle twitched. Stan's heart jumped. _Did he…_ The heart monitor's beeping picked up speed. Sheila and Gerald looked intently at their son.

"Kyle, honey can you hear me?" Kyle's mother leaned in closer, "Wake up honey." Kyle twitched again. Stan and Kenny traded looks.

"Do you think…?" Kenny trailed off. _No, he can't be having another nightmare, not now…_ The beeping was picking up speed now and Kyle's breathing was getting faster. _Oh shit, come on Kyle, just wake up._ Kenny shot him another worried look and Stan just shook his head, unsure. The heart monitor was beeping so fast it was nearly a constant whine. Suddenly the spikes on the small black screen disappeared, replaced by a solid flat line. _Oh f**k._

***

_He had been floating in a pool of blissful numbness when an annoying feeling began tugging at him. _Go away,_ he thought _I want to stay here. _The tugging was persistent though and before he could stop it, he felt himself slip into semi-consciousness. _Ow, f**k that hurts, let me go back…_ And then the blackness enveloped him again. Satisfied, Kyle waited for the peaceful numbness to return. It didn't. In fact, he felt more awake then before. _But this isn't right, if I was awake I would be at Stan's house…or maybe the hospital I guess…_His thoughts trailed off as a familiar breath on his neck made every hair on his body stand on end. _Oh shit._ Before he could react the familiar shadow had grabbed his arm, causing pain to shoot through his whole body. _

_"Hello Kyle." If it were possible for such a vile voice to sound friendly, it would have. "Finally I will be free from that hellhole in Imaginationland."_

_"Imaginationland?" Kyle couldn't help but ask. Anything to keep it talking, talking was good. It was better than getting killed. _

_"You still haven't figured it out?" The evil shadow chuckled darkly. "Your amazing "psychic" ability, your connection to the Imagination. After your little accident, your mind was once again vulnerable, allowing me access to the real world through you." Kyle's mind spun, trying to take in this information. It was a lot to process under the best of times, nevermind in the face of imminent death. _

_"You're from Imaginationland?" _

_"That's right," the bloody mouth moved closer to Kyle's head, he shrank back, trying to buy time._

_"What…what are you?" The evil thing seemed to get a good laugh at this._

_"I am fear. I am everything that frightens you pathetic humans. I am the thing that goes bump in the night, the monsters under the bed, the shadows in the corner, the boogeyman in the closet, I am fear itself." Kyle swallowed, his hammering heart feeling like it was going to pop out of his chest. _This is the end. Shit, I really didn't want to go out like this…F**K THIS!

_"And you, you are the link between Imaginationland and your world. And now, you're mine." Summoning all his strength, Kyle tore loose from the vise-like grip, gritting his teeth against the pain. He didn't know where he was going to run; it had never helped before, but he wasn't going to sit there and wait for the end either. He heard an amused chuckle behind him._

_"Where do you think you're going to run to?" The voice behind him taunted him. Kyle grit his teeth harder. _I don't care! Maybe I am screwed, but if I'm going to die, I'm going to be a f**king pain in the ass! _There was a light. _What the hell? _He'd never seen a light like this before. _A light at the end of the tunnel? Great, how much more cliché can you get? _Despite this, he headed for it. _

_"Stay away from that!" The angry beast roared. Kyle glanced over his shoulder and saw the shadow make a swipe for his head. He ducked, feeling the air woosh past his ears as the razor claws missed his head by inches. _Stay away? All the more reason to keep going. _With a final lunge the unearthly light enveloped him. His body felt light like he was floating. _Maybe I'm dead…damn.

"_I warned you." The dark voice followed him, but it was fading. He could hear distant voices becoming clearer. _Maybe I'm still alive!_ Considering he never expected to escape with his life, Kyle was elated by this possibility. Things were starting to feel more solid. Kyle blinked and a bright light poured into his eyes._

***

Kyle's eyes flew open, much to everyone's surprise. He looked around the room, confused for a moment.

"Kyle?" His mother hesitated for only a second before engulfing her son in bone-crushing hug.

"Honey, be careful. His arm is still broken…" Gerald reminded her, placing a hand on her shoulder, but Stan could see the tears pooling in the man's eyes as well. Kyle's mother finally released him from her death grip and he fell back, still looking around the room in confusion.

"What…?"

"Kyle, are you okay?" Kenny asked worriedly, going over to his friend's side. Kyle didn't seem to notice the question, still slowly scanning the room. "They said you might never wake up." Kenny told him. Kyle still ignored the muffled boy, his eyes darting from his parents to Kenny and finally to Stan. Kenny turned curiously to Stan.

"Isn't it great Stan?" he asked cautiously. Stan forced a smile. Something was not right.

"Yeah, its really good to see you awake dude, we were really worried." Kyle was staring at him now. There was something really unnerving about his eyes. Stan shifted uncomfortably. Something was really, really wrong. He didn't know what, but he had a feeling that things were not back to normal. Not nearly.

***

Kyle blinked, trying to clear his eyes. Something was not right here. He'd expected to wake up in the Marsh's living room, the ambulance or the hospital. This was definitely none of those. He groaned, slowly sitting up. Kyle glanced down. He was sitting in grass. Purple grass. _What the hell?_ He climbed to his feet and looked up. Kyle realized where the voices he had heard in his semi-conscious state were coming from; not from worried friends and family like he'd thought but rather from the very surprised crowd that stood in front of him. Freddy Krueger, the headless horseman, a handful of storm troopers, Jason, Frankenstein and many other evil creations of the mind stared at him. He was stuck on the evil side of Imaginationland, with every vile creation ever conceived by the human mind staring at him. Still in shock, Kyle took a step back, bumping into a pair of hairy legs. He slowly turned staring at the creature he had hoped never to see again. For his part, Manbearpig looked pretty surprised to see him too. _…Shit…_

Wow, poor Kyle just keeps getting more and more screwed over by the end of every chapter. Yeah, so things are getting pretty interesting now, there probably won't be too much more slow stuff now. (I hope not, I REALLY struggled through this chapter) Anyways, sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes, I wrote this late at night (as usual, hopefully my mom won't catch me this time XP) so it might have some errors. I plan to go over it in the morning before I post it (I don't have internet on my computer in my room (my mom thinks I'll be up all night, seriously, where does she get these ideas? XD) so I have to borrow my friend's laptop to post new stories)

**Anywho, let me know if you liked it. Ideas are also appreciated, I have a general idea of where this story is headed, but I would be more than willing to incorporate any ideas that you guys might have. Once again, much love to you all and good night…or morning…whatever:)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Firstly, let me apologize for the slowness of this update. I just got back from a 2 hour interview at the police station, so I'm pretty tired, but I'm going to try writing anyway cuz its been a while. For those of you who are wondering what I was doing at the police station, check out my most recent oneshot "Small Town". For those of you who are too lazy to look for it this is basically what happened: Friday night the place where I work got robbed. This masked creep snuck up behind one of the guys who was taking out the garbage and put a knife to his throat. Then he demanded all the money. Yeah, this actually happened. It scared the shit out of me. To those of you who actually reviewed that one-shot, you guys are so cool:) Thanks for the awesome reviews, even though the story kinda sucked. And thank you so much to those of you who reviewed my last chapter. I know, a brutal cliffhanger:). As usual, your reviews put me on cloud nine for most of the day. Damn my face hurt from smiling. Like I said, totally open to ideas for this story, I'm still not even sure where ****this**** chapter is going :P.**

**Chapter 5 (Wow, I never thought I would get this far XD)**

Absently Stan chewed the eraser on the top of his pencil. The poor mangled eraser had already suffered several hours of abuse as the day had gone by. Stan's mind was not on whatever pointless lesson Mr. Garrison felt like teaching that day anyway. His eyes drifted again to the clock on the wall. _Only 2 minutes?! That can't be right!_ Reasoning that the clock must be slow he glanced at his watch for confirmation. _Crap._ He resumed chewing the tortured pink eraser on the top of his pencil. _When is this day going to be over?_ This had to be the longest day of school in history. He allowed his mind to wander to the events of the weekend and shuddered. It had been a crazy couple of nights. His eyes drifted to the clock again. _I think it's moving backwards_. He studied the second hand closely, making sure it was actually moving. It was. With a sigh, Stan tried to focus on the lesson that their teacher was just wrapping up.

"…So your final reports will be due next Thursday." _Crap, now I have homework?_ With a frustrated sigh Stan focused on the board in front of him. _Don't look at the clock. Don't look at it. Really, don't. Don't…_ He looked. Not even a minute had passed. _GODDAMNIT! _After what seemed like ages the taunting hands on the clock finally formed the time Stan had been waiting for the whole day. _Home time._ He was out of his desk and halfway down the hall before the echo of the bell died. Unfortunately his locker wasn't very cooperative and any time he may have made bolting from the class like a madman was lost by his seventh attempt at the stubborn combination lock. His eager fingers spun too far past the first number again.

"Damn it!" He growled at the green metal. Kenny appeared beside him with a grin.

"Having trouble?" Stan growled a response and threw his hands up in frustration when the lock refused to budge. Kenny sighed and pushed Stan aside. He put his ear to the metal and within seconds had the lock open. If he hadn't been so distracted, Stan might have questioned the ease at which his broke friend opened the lock. He might have even connected it with his mysteriously disappearing lunch money. Fortunately for the hooded boy thought, Stan was distracted. Stan shoved his books haphazardly onto the shelf. One of his binders fell scattering paper across the hallway. He felt like tearing out his hair. With an impatient sigh he gathered the papers that had collected a collage of footprints in the brief moments they had lain in the hall. Kenny just watched him, an amused grin pulling at his lips. With an indiscernible growl Stan crammed the papers into his locker slamming the door hard enough to draw the attention of every eye in the hall. He ignored them all and stormed down the hall. Only a person who held no regard for their life would have dared follow him. Kenny not only followed Stan, but also laughed heartily.

***

_It's because I'm Jewish, isn't it God? Is that why you hate me?_ Kyle thought sarcastically. Everyone was still frozen in shock. Slowly what could be called a grin spread across Manbearpig's face. _Yeah, good to see you too…_ Kyle supposed he should probably run, but he reasoned it would probably be pretty impossible considering his legs had been reduced to Jell-O. The disfigured creature reached for him and the spell was broken. The silence ended with the hollers and jeers of several hundred evil creatures all voicing their opinions on the human that had suddenly appeared in their midst. Fortunately for him, Kyle suddenly remembered how running worked. The frozen shock was gone, replaced by the fact that he was now being pursued by every evil creation ever conceived. He raced through the purple grass, nearly tripping over an orange root sticking out of the ground. Barely gaining his balance, Kyle stumbled forward and veered sharply left around an overgrown mushroom. He came to an abrupt halt as he realized he'd nearly run into someone or something. His heart pounded, hoping it wasn't another Manbearpig or something equally frightening. He frowned. It was a deer. A deer with huge cute-looking eyes. _What the hell?_ A squirrel bounded out of the forest and peered at him with matching adorable eyes.

"Hey look Deery Deer, it's a human!"

"You're right, Squirrelly Squirrel!" Another voice exclaimed. A small bear with the same cute eyes came to stand next to the gray squirrel. _Wait a minute…_

"What should we do with him?" A third voice asked. A porcupine emerged to stand next to the others. _Why does this seem kind of familiar?_ Kyle frowned, trying to recall. Several other creatures followed the porcupine. A rabbit with twitching ears, a plump bird and small fox and several other critters emerged. Then it clicked. _Aw f**k._

***

"Jeez dude, what's your hurry?" Kenny panted, trying to keep pace with his Stan. The raven-haired boy hardly heard him. "Seriously," Kenny continued, "He's not going anywhere, and the doctor said he'd be fine." Stan continued to ignore him. _No. I don't care what the doctors say. There's something wrong. Really, really wrong. _Stan wished he could explain it to someone. Kenny would probably understand sooner than anyone else considering he knew about Kyle's messed up nightmares. Breathlessly, Stan pushed through the heavy double doors of Hell's Pass, ignoring the antiseptic smell and the twinge of discomfort in his stomach. He hurried to the reception desk. Sometime in the wee hours of the morning the meek-looking receptionist with mousy brown hair had been relieved by a younger blonde lady. Kenny gave a soft wolf whistle and Stan rolled his eyes. The blonde who looked like she belonged on a runway instead of behind a desk of a hospital regarded the pair with a bored expression.

"Yeah?" She asked, not bothering to cover up her annoyance.

"Can you tell me where Kyle Broflovski is?" Stan asked impatiently. With a long sigh the blonde turned to her monitor, her French-manicured nails moving agonizingly slowly over the keyboard.

"Room 106. Down the hall to your left." She said finally.

"Thanks." Stan took three steps before realizing Kenny was no longer with him. He turned expectantly to the parka-clad boy.

"Go ahead," Kenny grinned, "I'll catch up with you later." He added with a wink. Stan rolled his eyes again.

"She's too old for you, dude." He muttered. Kenny shrugged, blue eyes sparkling. _Ugh, whatever._ With a shake of his head Stan proceeded down the hall on his own. He hesitated outside the door marked 106 then entered slowly.

"Hey…Kyle?" His friend seemed to be sleeping. Stan stopped in the doorway. Kyle hadn't had a good night's sleep for at least a week. Interrupting his peaceful state now seemed like utter cruelty. Stan frowned. _What about his nightmares?_ He would have liked to believe that after Kyle's close call the horrific dreams would finally leave his friend alone, but he couldn't make himself believe it. After all, nothing had ever been that simple before and there was still that nagging suspicion that something was wrong. Kyle's eyes suddenly snapped open and he turned to Stan.

"Hey Stan."

"Hey…" Stan replied hesitantly, "Did I wake you up? I'm sorry." There was something different about his friend's eyes.

"No, I wasn't sleeping, it's fine." Kyle replied. It was like there was something lurking just beneath the surface of those emerald irises. Stan shifted uncomfortably. Something about Kyle's gaze made him feel uneasy.

"So…uh, how are you feeling?"

"Better." Awkward silence ensued as Stan struggled for something to say. He glanced at the wall, the floor, and the "Get Well" balloons beside Kyle's bed, anything to avoid those eyes.

"Is everything okay, Stan?" Kyle asked cautiously.

"Uh, yeah, fine. It's just…the hospital, you know." He pasted on a fake smile and looked up into his friend's eyes again. Kyle looked confused.

"You know," Stan prompted, "I don't really like hospitals…" _He knows that, why does he look so confused?_

"Oh…yeah…right." Kyle said hesitantly. Stan's suspicions were only growing by this point, but he didn't voice them aloud. The awkward silence stretched to unbearable lengths. Stan was almost relieved to hear Cartman's scornful voice in the hallway as he argued with Kenny. Almost.

***

_Only Eric Cartman could come up with anything this messed up._ Kyle thought grimly. He began to back away slowly, aware of the sound of the other evil creatures coming up behind him.

"Where are you going, human?" The rabbit cried.

"Gosh, if you tried to leave we would have to use our evil satanic powers on you." The bear informed him sincerely.

"There's the human!" A deep voice far behind him thundered. Roars and jeers of accompanied the voice. He had to move now or be boxed in by the approaching crowd. Hoping the bear's threat of satanic powers was an idle one, though he didn't expect to get that lucky, Kyle whirled and ran. He skidded to a stop as a wall of fire erupted in front of him. _Damn it! Can't I catch a break?_ The deceptively cute critters were approaching from his right and the crowd of evil imaginary creatures headed by Manbearpig and the headless horseman were gaining ground on his left. Honestly if he had to pick one or the other he would probably go with the roaring crowd. He was pretty sure that none of the people who'd imagined the slew of evil creatures were even close to as messed up as the person who'd imagined the Christmas critters on his right. _Shit._ He looked around desperately, hoping for another avenue of escape. Kyle glanced at the fiery wall behind him and considered his odds of surviving if he tried to make it through. Maybe if he moved fast enough… Out of alternatives he took a deep breath and ran blindly towards the wall of heat. Every instinct and shred of sanity left in him told him to steer clear of the white-hot wall of fire. Ignoring these feelings Kyle leapt, tucking his body in a ball to protect himself from the heat as much as possible. Sprawling in the unnaturally colored grass he was surprised to find himself alive. Singed at the ends, but alive. Quickly patting out the smoking portions of his clothing, he climbed to his feet and resumed his mad dash. No doubt his pursuers wouldn't take long to remove the flaming barrier that was currently keeping him protected and resume the chase. Just when Kyle had started to feel pretty good about the decent head start he'd gotten he felt something catch his left arm and yank him to the ground. Instinct took over and he opened his mouth to yell. Before he could get a sound out however, a suffocating hand covered his mouth tightly.

***

Stan managed to catch Kenny and Cartman before they entered the room.

"I think there's something wrong with Kyle," He said in a low voice, glancing over his shoulder. Cartman sighed in exasperation.

"Really?" He asked in mock surprise, "Is that why he's in a hospital?" Stan shot him a glare and Cartman rolled his eyes. He wasn't in the mood for this. He had only come for one reason after all. He'd saved his most offensive Jew jokes for a time like this.

"Wrong how?" Kenny asked. Cartman and Stan noted the muffled boy had a bruise starting to form around his right eye. Courtesy of a very pretty, very offended receptionist no doubt. Kenny noticed their looks and grinned.

"I think she likes me." Cartman only snorted.

"He's just…a little out of it, I guess." Stan said. Kenny shrugged.

"Well he did have a pretty close call." With a helpless shrug, Stan walked back into the room and his two friends followed.

"Hello Kahl," Cartman smiled sweetly. Stan and Kenny glanced curiously at him, no doubt wondering what he was up to. "And how are we feeling today?"

"Fine, thanks." Kyle replied, surprisingly without a trace of suspicion.

"Oh that's good. I was just thinking, it must be so boring in this hospital, and then I decided I should come to cheer you up." Stan and Kenny were openly staring at him now. "How about a joke?"

"Um, ok…" Kyle said slowly, but still without suspicion. Cartman hesitated a moment, this was a little weird. Oh well.

"What mistake did both Terry Fox and Hitler make?" He asked, fighting the grin that was trying to emerge.

"Cartman…" Stan glared at him warningly. Ignoring the dark-haired boy Cartman continued.

"They both failed to finish a race." Kenny snorted, trying to hide a laugh. Stan shot him a fierce glare, but Cartman hardly noticed. He was watching Kyle, waiting for the usual response. Anger, followed by a "shut up, fatass!" or a "don't belittle my people asshole!" or even a rare moment of shocked silence. Hell, Cartman wouldn't have been surprised to see the fiery redhead leap out of the bed and try to strangle him, injuries and all. He _was_ surprised however at Kyle's actual reaction. Kyle glanced from Stan to Kenny and finally to Cartman, his face blank. Cartman's victorious smile slowly faded. _Maybe he doesn't get it…?_

"You know, finish a race…like a race of people?…Like Jews?" Nothing.

"Oh…" The redhead glanced around the room again at his friends' reactions. "Um…ha ha, good one…" Stan, Kenny and Cartman traded looks. Stan's seemed to say 'See?! Told you so!' _Okay, I get what he means._

***

Kyle struggled against the iron grip, trying to wriggle out. The arm only tightened around his mouth to the point where he thought his head would pop.

"Are you trying to get spotted?" A voice hissed in his ear. He stopped struggling for a moment. The voice sounded human. Come to think of it, the hand slapped across his mouth also felt human. Twisting his neck, Kyle could make out the shape of his captor. It was a younger man with piercing blue eyes. His dark brown hair may have been slicked back at one point, but now it was spiky mass on top of the man's head.

"Are you going to be quiet?" The man asked in a low whisper. Kyle nodded as much as the arm would allow. The man removed his hand from Kyle's mouth.

"Who are-" Kyle didn't get past the second word before the man irritably slapped his hand back over Kyle's mouth.

"That's not quiet." He hissed. The man pointed from the bush that they were safely tucked in across the purple field.

"That Pig-bear-man creature thing has excellent hearing." _Manbearpig._ Kyle mentally corrected him. "So keep your voice down." Kyle nodded again and the hand was once again removed. They crouched in the bush for a tense moment. Just when Kyle was about to point out that the majority of the group seemed to be heading away from them, a curious head poked into the bush. Kyle recognized the bird as one of the Christmas Critters. _Oh shit…_ The bird's eyes widened and it opened its beak to alert the others. Before it could, the man beside Kyle moved, clubbing the bird with a rock. There was another tense moment as they watched the bird's lifeless body, (hitting it a couple more times to make sure) but it didn't move. The two hidden humans let out identical sighs of relief. Kyle could see the other Christmas critters at the far end of the field, heading away from their hiding spot.

"Chickadee-ee! Where are you?" One of them called. Kyle tensed a moment, wondering if any of them had seen their stray comrade fly this way, but the critters were heading in the opposite direction. Finally there was silence. They waited an extra five minutes to make sure before breaking the silence.

"How did you get here?" The man finally asked, turning to Kyle. Kyle studied his rescuer. He was a pretty average looking guy, dressed in what looked like it had once been a lab coat but was now just tattered rags. He considered the man's question. How had he gotten here?

"I really don't know." Kyle replied sincerely. The man cocked his head, studying Kyle.

"You look really familiar…" He muttered absently. Suddenly the man's blue eyes widened.

"It's you! You're the boy who sang the resonance code that activated the portal!" The man said excitedly.

"Huh?"

"The Imagination Song I think it was…"

"Oh…" Kyle furrowed his brow, trying to place this man. Was it one of the scientists from the Pentagon? It could be, but what was he doing here? "Who are you?" The scientist smiled.

"Where are my manners…Oh yeah, I guess I forgot them since my only interaction for the past year has been with those things. My name is Dr. Mitch Palmer. I was one of the head scientist on Project: Imagination Doorway." Kyle frowned again.

"What do you mean the last year?" The scientist sighed.

"Well, after we were all sucked into this place and that nuke went off, I got separated from the rest of the group. Somehow I got lost and ended up on this side of the barrier. I've been here ever since, hoping that one day I would find the way out of this hellhole." _Wow, and I thought I had it bad. At least I haven't been stuck here a year._

"Dude, that sucks." Dr. Palmer nodded and sighed.

"But maybe we can escape the way you came through, how did you get here?" Kyle was almost disappointed to tell him the truth. He felt pretty bad crushing that eager spark in the man's eyes.

"Like I said, I don't really know. I started having these messed up dreams and then somehow I ended up here. Honestly I don't know how it worked. I think it had something to do with how I was able to hear people from Imaginationland in my head after…well…I really don't know when exactly…"

"After that Pig-bear-man grabbed you." The scientist finished.

"How'd you know about that?"

"I was the one who used the defibrillator." He replied.

"Then I guess I owe you my life twice now." Kyle replied with a thin smile.

"Well, technically it was your fat little friend who brought you back. We thought you were a goner."

"Cartman?" Kyle asked incredulously. He shook his head. "You must have it mixed up, that's impossible." With a grim smile Dr. Palmer gestured to the colorful landscape.

"Stranger things have happened." Kyle considered this statement a moment before shaking his head again.

"Not that strange." He concluded.

***

Today was the day. Two weeks had passed since Kyle had been admitted into the hospital and today was the day he would finally be released. Stan was relieved he would no longer have to endure the antiseptic smell and creepy atmosphere of the hospital to visit his friend. He was less relieved by the fact that his friend was still not back to his normal self. He hadn't gotten angry with a single one of Cartman's racist jokes and the large boy had ended up storming out of the room in disgust. Stan's suspicions had only grown and now he shared them with Kenny.

"I'm really worried about this." Stan frowned. Kenny snagged an apple from the fruit basket sitting on Stan's counter.

"What do you think is wrong?" Kenny questioned around a mouthful of fruit.

"Did you notice how he hasn't had a single nightmare since he went to the hospital?" Stan pointed out. Kenny shrugged and took another juicy bite.

"I thought that was a good thing." His mouth was so full it would have been difficult to understand his muffled words if Stan hadn't had a lifetime of practice.

"It is, but it's weird. I mean why would the dreams suddenly stop?" Stan asked, his frown deepening. Kenny shrugged again and reached for the cookie jar, tossing the apple core in the garbage can in the corner of the room.

"Just tell me what you think, Stan. I can tell you have a theory." The blonde boy reached for another cookie. Stan shot him a mildly annoyed look, but sighed and spoke.

"Look, all I know is that's not Kyle. He didn't bat an eye at any of Cartman's lame-ass jokes, he doesn't remember a lot of stuff and he didn't even recognize Ike!"

"So if that's not Kyle who is it?" Kenny mumbled around his fourth cookie.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out. You in?" Kenny shrugged and reached for the last cookie.

"Yeah sure."

***

Kyle stretched and yawned. Despite the fact that he was in a place that was probably the equivalent of hell itself he hadn't slept this good in a long time. The nightmares were finally over and that fact was enough to put him in a positive state for now. Alert to any noise Kyle scanned the horizon for the third time. He was getting good at recognizing the danger of the scouting parties. The evil creatures were still searching for him, but Dr. Palmer had found a pretty decent hiding spot in a shallow cave. They had hidden there for the past couple of weeks, watching the imaginary creatures scour the purple grass. Food was actually easier to come by than Kyle would have imagined. It seemed vegetables such as broccoli and brussel sprouts grew in abundant patches in the evil side of Imaginationland. Kyle was too hungry to complain, although he felt another pang of pity for anyone who had to live off of such crap for a year. Kyle was relieved to find that the injuries he had sustained in the real world seemed to have disappeared. He was immensely grateful he didn't have to deal with a broken arm and several broken ribs. Dr. Palmer had insisted on hearing the long version of his story, and seemed to be extremely disappointed by the time Kyle finished.

"Well, I'm just as clueless as you." He concluded, "I really have no idea how you got here." Kyle sighed. The weeks had been long and filled with tense paranoia. He checked over his shoulder again. It was a habit he had developed over the last few weeks. He knew he would be dead if it wasn't for the scientist. He had nearly been spotted four times already and had it not been for the man's intense paranoia Kyle knew he would no doubt be inside Manbearpig's stomach at the moment. Kyle spotted another cluster of broccoli to his left. _Ugh, I will never complain about dinner again._ He thought about his mother's cooking and his mouth began to water. With a disappointed sigh, Kyle crunched on the green vegetable making a face at the taste. He picked the rest of the vegetables anyway, stuffing them into his pockets. He straightened up and continued onward his eyes scanning the ground and the horizon for food and predators. He was so preoccupied with making sure there was nothing behind him that he almost forgot to look where he was going. Voices suddenly came from in front of him. _Crap!_ Kyle hurriedly ducked behind an orange tree, listening to the voices as they drew nearer. One belonged to the creature that had nearly killed him once; Manbearpig, the other was the deceptively sweet voice of Squirrelly Squirrel. They were walking right past his hiding place.

"Still no luck in tracking down the human?" Manbearpig wanted to know, pausing only a few feet from Kyle.

"Not yet, but don't be down, we'll find him."

"Right. Well, it won't matter for much longer if Fear is doing his job." Kyle's eyes widened at the mention of the creature that had tormented him in his dreams.

"How do you think he's doing?" The gray squirrel asked. Manbearpig scratched his massive head.

"Well, I haven't seen him for a while so I assume he finally made it through to the real world and found a host body to use."

"That's terrific!" Squirrelly said enthusiastically. "Now he just has to find a way to let all of us into the human world!"

"Those pathetic humans won't know what hit them." Manbearpig chuckled darkly. "They'll all be scared senseless when their worst nightmare come to life."

"It will be so fun!" Squirrelly cheered. Suddenly the gray animal paused. He turned to Kyle's hiding place. _Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit…_

"Is everything okay?" Manbearpig turned to his comrade who had paused far too close to the tree for comfort. Squirrelly didn't reply, his nose twitched and he bounded a little closer. _Shit, shit, shit, shit… _Kyle's nose itched. _Not now, oh please not now!…_ He held his breath, holding back the sneeze. Kyle lifted his hand, putting a finger under his nose to stifle the sneeze. As he did so, his hand bumped his overflowing pocket and he watched in horror as the broccoli spilled from his pocket and made soft thumping noises as it hit the unusually colored ground. _Damn broccoli. _The squirrel and Manbearpig both turned to him in surprise. In that shocked moment of silent realization his nose itched insistently. _Aw hell._ He let the sneeze out.

***

"Are you sure this is necessary?" Kenny asked in amusement. Stan sighed.

"I know this seems kinda extreme…" Kenny snorted.

"Let's see, you drugged your friend, kidnapped him, and tied him up, all because he didn't strangle Cartman over a few racist jokes. Yeah, I guess it's a _little_ extreme." Stan rolled his eyes as Kyle groaned groggily.

"I told you, that's not Kyle. I don't know what's going on, but that's not Kyle." Stan said insistently. Kenny sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Fine, whatever dude, but this was your idea, I'm not taking any shit for it." Kyle blinked groggily.

"What the hell is going on?" He demanded, noticing the general lack of mobility that comes with having your wrists bound behind your back. Stan ignored the question and glared intently into the green eyes.

"Where's Kyle?"

"What? Don't be stupid Stanley, I'm Kyle." Protested the bound figure.

"Kyle never calls me Stanley," Stan replied evenly folding his arms in front of his chest, "You're not Kyle. Where is he?" Stan glanced at Kenny's reaction. The blond just shrugged, probably still thinking he was insane. Stan didn't care, he was watching the face in front of him turn from confusion and finally break out with a smile. That smile sent a shiver up his spine.

"Well Stanley, I guess you figured it out. Congratulations." His friend replied in an even voice.

"What?" Kenny interrupted, confusion scrawled across his face.

"You're right, I'm not Kyle." With a grunt the restrained figure flexed his arms and the ropes snapped like thread.

"Dude…!" Kenny exclaimed taking a step closer. This proved to be a fatal mistake. Faster than Stan could blink Kyle picked up Kenny by the throat and hurled him at the wall. There was loud crack and Kenny's body crumpled against the wall at an awkward angle.

"Oh my God…you killed Kenny…" Stan whispered, eyes wide. "You bastard…" The grin on his best friend's face was unnerving as Kyle fixed Stan with his gaze.

"Let's continue our talk, shall we? Only this time, I'll ask the questions and you tell me what I want to know." Stan swallowed as Kyle took a step closer to him.

"First tell me where Kyle is." He was surprised by the boldness in his voice. He didn't feel nearly as bold as his voice sounded and the figure before him seemed to know it.

"Probably dead by now," Kyle replied with a snort and roll of his eyes. "Now, it's my turn to ask questions." Stan planted his feet even though his knees threatened to give out.

"I'm not telling you shit." He spat. His friend's eyes narrowed and before Stan was even award of what was happening the beast inside his friend's body had pinned him against the wall and was holding his throat. Painfully.

"Wrong answer." The beast hissed in Kyle's voice. The hand was slowly starting to squeeze, cutting off Stan's air supply. "How about you try again?" Stan nodded.

"Okay…" He choked out. His friend's face broke into a creepy smile again.

"Now, tell me about Project: Imagination Doorway."

***

Kyle was getting really sick of running for his life. He knew he was lucky for all the trees that he had to weave around. Since he was a lot smaller than Manbearpig he could dart around the trunks much faster. In a flat race the long-legged creature would have caught him in a heartbeat. Just like last time. Although by this point it sounded more like the enraged creature was just crashing through the forest instead of going around anyway. Something whipped over his head. Kyle stared in astonishment as a tree, which had narrowly missed his head, whirled in front of him, bowling over several other trees in the process. Manbearpig wasn't just knocking trees over; he was picking them up and throwing them at Kyle. He glanced over his shoulder and dove to the left, nearly getting impaled by another massive trunk. An anger-filled roar resounded through the newly cleared forest, much closer than Kyle would have liked. He scrambled to his feet, the monstrous creature nearly on top of him. Manbearpig reached out for him, but Kyle managed to dart away from the clawed hand just in time. He couldn't keep this up though and they both knew it. Kyle wove away from the outstretched hand again, heading for the splintered group of trees. Manbearpig gave another roar and lunged for him. The monster didn't quite grab him, but the massive hand did manage to trip him. Kyle hit the ground hard, knocking the breath out of his lungs. Gasping for air he rolled onto his back as the huge creature closed in on him. His hand fell on a piece of splintered wood. _Well, I have nothing to lose at this point…_ Kyle grit his teeth, grasping the sharpened branch. He pulled it above himself with the splintered end upwards just as the creature fell upon him. Fortunately, Kyle realized that even if the massive beast only fell on him the suffocating weight would probably kill him and he rolled out of the way as the creature thundered to the ground. Manbearpig did not move. Kyle sat on the ground still panting for breath. _I did it. I killed Manbearpig…aw shit. Now I sound like Al Gore. _Shakily, Kyle climbed to his feet. He tiptoed past the inert body, half expecting it to jump back to its feet. Still glancing over his shoulder Kyle hurried back to the shallow cave that he had called home for the past two weeks. The scientist was already waiting.

"Hey," the man greeted him, "I found another patch of brussel sprouts north of the yellow mushroom trees, did you have any luck?"

"Yeah. Yeah I had a lot of luck." Kyle replied, still glancing nervously over his shoulder.

"Was that Manbearpig I heard?" The scientist asked with a frown.

"He's dead now." Kyle replied. The man's eyebrows shot up.

"You killed it?"

"Sort of."  
The hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood on end. _Oh crap…_ Kyle slowly turned around. The first thing he saw was Squirrelly Squirrel with his little arms crossed in front of his chest. The next thing he noticed was the army of evil characters behind the gray critter.

"Hello humans." The gray squirrel said evenly. Kyle swallowed. "Kill them." The creatures swarmed forward and before Kyle could even turn around a storm trooper grabbed his arm, twisting it painfully. Jason came forward, his blood-spattered hockey mask leering at them. Kyle glanced to his right where Frankenstein held Dr. Palmer in a similar grip. With a quick sweep of the chainsaw Kyle stared in horror as the scientist's head dropped off of his limp body and rolled to the side. The crowd cheered. Kyle's heart pounded so loud he was sure everyone could hear it. Jason turned to him, the bloody saw snarling. _Oh shit…_ Terror poured through him and he squirmed madly, but the Storm trooper's grip was like iron. The crazed killer raised the saw and Kyle squeezed his eyes shut waiting for the painful end.

"Stop!" A voice commanded. Kyle didn't want to open his eyes.

"Aw come on!" Jason protested. Under normal circumstances, not that those had existed for some time, Kyle might have found it amusing that the serial killer's voice had such a gay lisp.

"No, I have a better idea." That voice was too familiar. Kyle opened his eyes. He was only half surprised to see Manbearpig still alive. Of course. _There goes my great accomplishment. Not that anyone other than Al Gore would care anyway…_

"What's better than killing them?" The storm trooper holding Kyle asked.

"Do you all remember the battle last year?" Manbearpig asked. The crowd grumbled in response. Clearly they didn't like discussing their losses. "Why did we lose?" Manbearpig pressed on. His question was met with silence. "We lost because of that human from the real world. Humans have the power to create things in this world, remember?" The general growling from the crowd indicated they did indeed remember. "Don't be so hasty. All we have to do is get through the barrier and then, with a human's powers of imagination on our side, all of Imaginationland will be ours. And then…"

"The real world!" The crowd cheered. Dread filled Kyle's pounding heart. _Oh f**k…_

***

Cartman yawned lazily then frowned. Why was he so uncomfortable? This wasn't his bed! And why were his hands tied behind his back?

"What the hell?!" Cartman blinked, eyes adjusting to the dark. He was in the backseat of a car. He sat up groggily, determined to give the driver and his apparent kidnapper a piece of his mind.

"Sit down and shut up!" A voice containing more venom then Cartman would have thought possible ordered. Cartman's eyes only widened.

"Kahl?!"

HURRAY! Finally done! This was definitely the longest I have ever worked on any chapter, but school and work has been a real bitch lately. Ugh. Math XP. O_o. Yeah. I hope I can manage to start updating a little more regularly, I'll do my best, but I have grad coming up soon so no guarantees on fast updates. Anywho, I've probably confused a lot of you, but I swear things start to make more sense in the next chapter. Really. Promise. (Especially the last scene :). It does have relevance to the story but the main reason I put it in there is because I find the idea so amusing XD) I know, this story is getting pretty messed up, but let me know if you guys actually like it by some miracle.


	6. Chapter 6

I know, I know, long time since update, but I've been really busy lately and honestly I've really had to put a lot of thought into this chapter. I really didn't like the last chapter much; I think it moved too fast. Once again, those of you who took the time to review made me squeal at a pitch meant to shatter glass. Also, I was checking my email (something I hadn't done in like three months) and was totally dumbfounded by the amount of people who faved my stories and stuff. You guys are the reason I got this chapter out at all, luv you all XD.

On a totally random note I was looking through the games section of Fanfiction and was extremely amused to find a several fanfics for Solitaire. Freaking Solitaire! Lol.

Okay, last author's note. I'm pretty stoked about some rumors that I heard: Apparently the guy who robbed my work was caught and is currently rotting in a jail cell. Hurray! And with any luck he will get ass-raped XD. Anywho, on with the story.

Chapter 6

Dying really sucked. It was just so damn inconvenient. That was probably a pretty big understatement for most people. Kenny McCormick did not fall under that category. He sighed as his formless body floated in the nothingness. He supposed he could go visit Satan in hell; the big guy still owed him one for getting his love life straightened out again. Then again, the other big guy upstairs owed him one too since he _had_ saved all of heaven with his amazing video game skills. Kenny sighed again. He really wasn't in the visiting mood. He just wanted to get back to the living world. To be honest, he was a little worried about Stan's well being considering Kyle had simply picked him up and hurled him against a wall, instantly killing him. Not to mention he was more than a little curious about what the hell was going on. Unfortunately, until the forces of nature that somehow dictated his immortality decided to send him back, he was stuck in this boring blackness with nothing to do but twiddle his thumbs…if he'd had any. Finally he could feel his body start to form again, slowly his senses began to awaken until…

***

Kenny opened his eyes and groaned in pain. He might be immortal, but apparently that didn't mean he was immune to pain. He slowly sat up from where he was propped up against the wall at an awkward angle. He stretched wincing at the cracking noises as his spine and neck realigned themselves. Finally he stood, still sore, but considering most people wouldn't even be able to walk away from an incident like this Kenny supposed he should feel lucky. He quickly scanned Stan's basement searching for any trace of either of his friends. He almost passed over the black haired boy in the dim light. Stan was slumped on the floor, a section of his dark hair matted with dried blood. He lay so still that Kenny was worried he might be dead for a moment until he saw the other boy's chest rise and fall ever so slightly.

"Stan?" He called out hesitantly. The figure twitched once. Kenny hurried over and put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Stan? Are you okay?" The figure twitched again and his eyes slowly cracked open.

"Kyle?"

"No, it's Kenny, are you okay, dude?" Stan slowly sat up.

"Ow," he frowned, putting his hand to the spot of dried blood. "What happened?"

"Beats me," Kenny shrugged, "I died, remember?"

"Right…" Stan muttered, clearly not remembering. He glanced around the room, still disoriented. Kenny could tell the moment everything came rushing back to him. It was like a light switch. Click.

"Wait, where did Kyle go?" Kenny sighed. Apparently Stan seemed to have some short-term memory issues.

"I don't know, I _died_." He repeated slowly.

"Oh yeah…" Stan grinned sheepishly then turned serious again. "We got to find him before he hurts someone."

"Or worse." Kenny added grimly cracking the last of his vertebrates into place. _Ah, that's much better._

***

Cartman was confused. Okay, that was another understatement for the record. He knew people could be unpredictable, but he had gotten really good at figuring most people out; their weaknesses, their dark secrets and other blackmail-worthy things. Nonetheless, he could recall several times when he'd been surprised by people. Butters giving him a hicky came to mind. As did his late grandmother entrusting him with her life's fortune. Kyle Broflovski however, was a person that Cartman was pretty sure he had figured out after years of animosity. Apparently not so much considering he was now tied (and gagged much to his annoyance) and thrown in the backseat of his mom's car that the goody-two shoes Jew Cartman had known since pre-school had apparently stolen.

"Wumpf buh muck iv mumph om?!" He demanded angrily. _Damn, now I sound like a poor piece of crap too. _The driver didn't even flinch. _Where the hell are we going anyway?_ They had been driving for some time already and Cartman briefly wondered if Kyle planned to take him to some undisclosed area to kill him or something retarded like that. He was pretty sure the redhead didn't have the balls to actually kill him…then again he wouldn't have imagined this either. No, that couldn't be the case. South Park was already pretty much an undisclosed area; they wouldn't have needed to drive very far to hide a body. Cartman couldn't help but be a little comforted by this fact. He was pretty sure that Kyle wouldn't have killed him but a little reassurance didn't hurt either. He squirmed a moment, trying to see out of the window. Cartman was surprised to see that they were actually in the middle of a city. And for some reason, apparently no one was questioning the fact that a nine-year old kid was driving a car. With a bound and gagged kid in the backseat no less. Though Cartman attributed that to the fact that all the side windows were tinted (He didn't even want to know why his mom had insisted on this) and impenetrable from the outside. Cartman frowned. _Why does this place kind of look familiar?_ He wondered to himself. And indeed this street looked frustratingly nostalgic. _That library, those steps…that pay phone…holy shit…_ He remembered.

***

Kyle was not a terribly imaginative person. It was something that distantly bothered him, but nothing that he'd ever overly concerned himself with. He was a logical thinker. Two plus two is four, Columbus discovered America, these were the things his brain was good at working with. Solid facts. Deep down however, though he would sooner die than admit it, Kyle was a little jealous of Cartman's imaginative ability. Despite his obvious stupidity, Cartman did have loads of creativity. It was unfortunate he used most of that for devious plans involving get-rich-quick schemes, manipulating people into doing his bidding or simply making Kyle's life miserable. In light of all this, Kyle hadn't been terribly surprised when the fat boy instantly figured out how to imagine things into existence in Imaginationland. Kyle wished he were that lucky. Or lucky enough to at least get a decent teacher like Butters. But no, he got stuck with Jason the crazed killer and an irritable storm trooper. Both looked like they would sooner just cut off his head than try to get him to actually use it. Fortunately for Kyle Manbearpig, who appeared to be in charge of the mob, had given the two strict orders not to kill him…yet. It was amazing how one word could change a person's relief back into a cold fear.

"This is super retarded." Jason sighed. The storm trooper rolled his eyes, whether in agreement or because of the masked killer's gay lisp Kyle wasn't sure.

"All you have to do is imagine a missile, or a bomb, hell, even a battering ram, is that really so hard?" The storm trooper growled. The group was standing next to the giant stone barrier that separated the two halves of Imaginationland. Kyle had been trying the last half hour without success to imagine one of the previously mentioned devices into existence. It probably didn't help that the most dominant thought in his mind was his own survival.

"This is ridiculous," The armor clad trooper glanced at his watch, "Five more minutes and we report back that we couldn't get the barrier down."

"And the kid?"

"You know what to do." The trooper shrugged grimly. Kyle could picture Jason grinning underneath the mask. _Okay, five minutes…I can do this…_ His mind was starting to panic and he knew it He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to concentrate. _Battering ram, okay, lets try that one…battering ram…battering ram…come on…_ A flash of white light caught everyone's attention. Kyle opened his eyes and slowly turned to face the newly imagined creation.

"You've got to be kidding me." The storm trooper said flatly. The goat-like animal before them bleated dripping the light brown goop it was covered in.

"A battered ram?"

***

"So what happened while I was dead?" Kenny asked curiously.

"He mostly just asked questions about Imaginationland and that Imagination doorway thing at the pentagon." Judging by the way Stan was rubbing the claw marks on his neck Kenny assumed his friend hadn't been asked _nicely._

"What did you tell him?"

"He asked where the portal was and I told him it was in the Pentagon in Washington."

"What do you think he wants in Imaginationland anyway?" Kenny frowned. Stan bit his lip.

"I think…I think he wants to release all of the evil creatures from Imaginationland into our world." Kenny was silent for a long minute.

"That would suck." Another understatement for the count. "Well, on the positive side, the Pentagon has some of the best national security in the country, right? So the odds are pretty good he won't get in." Stan hesitated again. _Uh oh, this doesn't look good._ Kenny thought apprehensively.

"He asked me if I knew how to get in. I told him I had no idea; the only two who broke into the Pentagon were Kyle and Cartman." Kenny frowned.

"Oh…wait…do you think?" Kenny looked up at his friend who suddenly mirrored his revelation.

"Do you think he went after Cartman?" The two boys froze a moment before bolting up the stairs and down the street towards the familiar green house.

***

There was no such thing as a small thunderstorm on the dark side of Imaginationland. That was something Kyle had learned after a couple of days. After all, there wasn't much evil in a few tiny sparks of lightning and some half-assed thunder. No, when there was a storm the sky was set ablaze with blinding flashes of lightning every couple of seconds and the thunder sounded like cannons at war. And then there was the rain; the whistling wind turned the harmless droplets into needles that bit at any unexposed skin. Kyle shivered as the cold drops drenched his well-worn clothes and clenched his knees close to his body to conserve body heat. His blindfold was getting itchy but he knew if he so much as raised his hand to scratch his nose a mob of storm troopers would be all over him. In light of his newly discovered powers of imagination the evil creatures had blindfolded him and put a frighteningly large amount of storm troopers in charge of guarding him. This was to prevent any imaginable escape. Literally. Twenty minutes after he'd imagined the batter-coated ram the evil creatures had him try his luck with a imagining a missile into existence. When this didn't end in disaster, they had him imagine a barrage of other weapons. Though the creatures has seemed ever cheerful with every successful weapon that didn't end up as a egg and flour coated goat, Kyle couldn't help but start to feel a little guilty for the creatures on the far side of the barrier. The poor unsuspecting imaginary creatures were pretty much screwed as far as he could tell. Unfortunately, it was pretty hard to say no with a gun held up to your head.

A particularly loud clap of thunder made Kyle jump. He had never really liked thunderstorms before and the intensity of the storms here really hadn't helped matters. Then again, compared to his multiple near-death experiences the past while he supposed the storms really paled in comparison. The rain was really cold though. Cold and miserable, Kyle let his mind wander trying not to think about his current situation. _I wonder how everyone back home is? They're probably wondering where I am. I wonder if they think I'm dead. I guess I am as good as dead…_ He pushed those thoughts aside, preferring not to dwell on that. _It has been about two weeks I think…they've probably given up hope already…_ The thoughts of his family and friends mourning his death did nothing to lift his mood.

"All right comrades," A voice thundered above the pouring rain and loud claps of thunder. Manbearpig. "Get some rest, we attack at dawn." The cheering was deafening. Kyle thought again of the hapless imaginary creatures on the far side of the wall and his stomach clenched.

***

Cartman's mind had been racing since he realized where he was. He tried to think of any reason Kyle would bring him here, but came up empty. The last time they had been in Washington was when Cartman had caught a ride with a trucker in order to find Kyle and make him pay up on his half of their bet. The memory brought a satisfied smirk to his face despite the situation. Then there had been a bunch of shit with some Imaginary characters, something about a nuke and finally the sweet success of seeing Kyle suck his balls. Ah, good times. The car had stopped. He hadn't even noticed until he heard the sound of a car door slam and realized that Kyle had already climbed out of the driver's door. He glanced around and saw that they were in the back parking lot by the Pentagon. _Okay, time to give that damn Jew a good kick in the nuts. _ His door swung open and before Cartman could even react, Kyle had grabbed him by the back of his shirt and hauled him out of the car with a single arm. _Holy shit, what the hell is going on?!_

"Okay, tubby," Kyle snarled in a voice that sounded unnatural, "Here's how it's going to work. You show me how to get into the Pentagon, to the Imagination Portal and I don't kill you right here." Now Cartman was confused. Partly because of the fact that Kyle's normally green eyes had taken on a shade of blood red, not to mention his sudden super-human strength, but also because he had a feeling this was not an idle threat. _What the f**k is going on here anyway?! _ Another thought occurred to him as he began to lead the way to the back of the building. Kyle had broken into the Pentagon as well, why the hell did he need Cartman to show him? Stan's suspicions came drifting back into his mind.

"_That's not Kyle. I don't know who it is, but it's definitely not Kyle."_

_No shit._

***

Stan rapped on the door and waited impatiently. The door finally opened.

"Oh, hello boys." Ms. Cartman greeted them in her usual warm voice. "Actually, you're just the boys I was hoping to see. I don't suppose you've seen my poopsikins around anywhere have you?" Kenny snickered at Liane's pet name for her son.

"Actually, no." Stan said, elbowing Kenny in the ribs. "We were wondering if you had seen him."

"I haven't seen him for almost a day." Ms. Cartman replied worriedly. "And my car is missing too for some reason." Stan swapped looks with Kenny who was no longer laughing.

"Thanks Ms. Cartman, we'll let you know if we see him." Stan told her as they made their way back down the driveway.

"Now what?" Kenny asked. Stan bit his lip, thinking hard.

"Well, we know where they're going at least. We just have to find some way to get there."

"Woah, woah, woah. So why do we want to go to Washington exactly?" Kenny frowned. "Personally I'd rather avoid being chucked against a wall at fatal speeds…again."

"Well that thing might know where Kyle is…plus he did kidnap Cartman." Stan tried to tune out the voice that had being playing over in his mind since he'd woken up earlier.

"_Probably dead by now…" _

_No, I can't think that way. He's alive, he has to be…_

"…like I care if he's got Cartman, he can keep him." Kenny was saying. "But I guess if he knows where Kyle is we should probably try to find him. But no way am I getting killed again." Stan pushed down his negative thoughts and tried to concentrate.

"Okay, we can probably take the bus to Washington…" Stan mentally tabulated the cost and compared it with the savings in his piggy bank. It would be close. Kenny was frowning.

"After that buying all that stupid pizza I'll probably only have enough cash for a one-way ticket."

"Yeah, me too." Stan shrugged, "We'll have to worry about that later. C'mon dude." Stan started walking in the opposite direction of their houses. Kenny hesitated a moment then caught up with his friend.

"Uh Stan? Where are you going?"

"You said you didn't want to die again, right?"

"No shit."

"We're going to my uncle Jimbo's to pick up some stuff." The dark-haired boy replied with grim determination. Kenny arched his eyebrows questioningly but didn't say anything.

***

It had been the longest night of his life. Even longer than seemingly endless nights trying to fight sleep in order to avoid the nightmare. His sleep had been fitful at best, usually only lasting for a few minutes at a time, but fortunately free of nightmares at least. He was still soaked to the bone and was convinced that if he survived this ordeal by some miracle he was going to get one hell of a cold. _That's the least of my worries…_ The rain still fell lightly and Kyle could just picture the miserable gray sky that had undoubtedly blanketed the dark side of Imaginationland. The air was still cool and damp and the light breeze seemed to pass right through him. His teeth were chattering so hard his jaw began to ache. _Damn it's cold! _Kyle drew his knees to his chest, encircling them with his sopping sleeves. He resting his soaked head on his knees and had almost managed to drift off to sleep when a hand roughly grabbed the back of his collar, hauling him to his feet. He let out a startled yelp, which earned him a solid smack on the head.

"Shut up stupid human." Ah so it was the bitchy storm trooper from yesterday. A hand gave him a rough shove and he stumbled forwards, legs nearly giving out. It occurred to him that it must have been about a day since he'd had anything to eat. Not that he was hungry, his stomach was in knots, but his legs felt like spaghetti. Kyle hoped they would at least take the blindfold off, but had no such luck. The evil creatures still feared an escape attempt obviously. Stumbling blindly, with only a rough guiding hand on his back and an occasional irritable growl, Kyle stumbled several times, almost landing face first on one occasion. Fortunately he was able to catch himself and land on his hands. Unfortunately he was pretty sure he'd sprained his wrist; it was now throbbing and he could feel it starting to swell. Finally he felt the hand grip his shoulder and he finally stopped walking. Kyle could make out the sounds of many creatures around them and despite the blindfold he could feel the excitement in the air. He didn't need to see in order to know that the soft clanging of weapons, the excited murmurs and growls and the impatient stamping of feet was the sound of a bloodthirsty army eager for battle.

"Are we ready to blow up the barrier?" A voice asked. Another voice confirmed they were indeed ready. There was a tense moment of complete silence, which was abruptly shattered by a mind-numbing explosion. The shockwave was powerful enough to knock him on his rear. There was another moment of silence, punctuated only by the sound of crumbling rock and excited breathing.

"To war! Kill them all! Leave nothing alive!" The roar that followed rivaled the explosion in volume and definitely outlasted it. The ground shook at the weight of hundreds of bloodthirsty creatures from the depths of hell stampeding through the gap in the wall that separated the two sides of the Imagination.

"C'mon." The bitchy storm trooper hauled him to his feet, complaining about being stuck on babysitting duty while everyone else got to have all the fun. Getting over the rubble of the barrier was definitely a challenge with a blindfold.

"Oh for the love of…" The impatient trooper growled, yanking the blindfold from his eyes. "There, now hurry up already!" Kyle blinked at the sudden light. The warm sun on the good side of Imaginationland was more than welcome after the cold morning he'd had. Even the colorful grass looked more cheerful on this side of the barrier. The only thing that ruined the otherwise beautiful scene was the carnage he could already see. Blood stained the rainbow grass and Kyle could already make out the corpses of several cute and cuddly imaginary characters. His stomach clenched.

"Well come on! We still have to go all the way to Castle Sunshine. No doubt that's where they're all going to make their final stand again." Far on the horizon Kyle could make out a castle. _No way, you've got to be kidding me._ Apparently not. With another irritable shove, the storm trooper pushed him forward and the walk began.

***

The bus smelled like ass. It was crowded, sweaty and felt far too slow. Not to mention the creepy looking guy who was sitting right beside them. Stan wished he could fall asleep like Kenny who was snoring softly beside him. They still had another hour to get to Washington and it felt like it was dragging on forever. Stan glanced at the creepy guy out of the corner of his eye. If there was ever a guy that screamed "freaky rapist pedophile" it was this guy. Shifty eyes were magnified behind the massive glasses and the man's scraggly beard and greasy hair looked like it hadn't been washed for at least a week. The creepiest part however, was the intense looks the guy kept shooting them. Stan wondered how Kenny had ever managed to fall asleep with this psycho sitting right next to them. Stan wished his friend were awake right now so he could talk to him and hopefully ignore this creep, but he didn't have the heart to wake the hooded boy. Instead he tried to concentrate on the scenery flying by outside the window. Stan noticed a sign up ahead and watched closely to see how far from Washington they were. _Washington, 40 miles. Ugh, almost there. _Another reason he wished Kenny were awake was to keep his mind from wandering.

_"Probably dead by now…probably dead…dead…"_

The words played like an endless loop no matter how hard he tried to ignore them. _No…I will find that son of a bitch and I will make him tell me where Kyle is…ow…_ Stan glanced at his hand that had balled so tightly in a fist that his nails bit into his palm. He watched as the four crescent shaped marks faded from white to a soft pink. Stan sighed. _I hate the bus._

***

Cartman gestured to a door marked "Sector 2 Authorized Personnel Only".

"You got to be kidding me. It's actually this easy to break into the Pentagon." Kyle asked incredulously. The large boy shrugged.

"Well there's an alarm." He replied with a shrug. The other boy only shook his head, then returned to his previous brusque manner.

"Go." He ordered, shoving Cartman forward. It burned him inside to be taking orders from a stinking Jew, but there was the matter of self-preservation here. The unnatural strength and sinister voice were really something Cartman would rather not be on the wrong side of.

"Unauthorized Entry!" A computerized voice announced. "Security Breach in Sector 2! Unauthorized Entry!" Ignoring the alarm Cartman proceeded calmly past the rows of computers and towards a glass pane. A small group of scientists were working around various terminals. At the end of the room was a massive circular portal with a ramp leading up to it.

"There you go." Cartman sighed. "Have fun, I'm going home."

"You wish." The sinister voice replied. Kyle made a throwing motion with his arm and the pane of glass shattered. With his other arm he seized the larger boy by the collar and dragged him along.

"Let go, goddamn dirty Jew…" Cartman's string of insults were cut short by the other throwing him halfway across the room with a single arm. _Weak._

***

"Come on, Kenny!" Stan shook his friend awake, "We're here, wake up already!" Stan was eager to get off the smelly bus and away from the creepy guy (Who he suspected was the source of the foul smell they'd had to endure for the past few hours).

"Five more minutes." His friend muttered, rolling away from Stan.

"Kenny! This is serious! We're in Washington! Now get up you poor piece of crap!" Kenny yawned and gave an exaggerated stretch.

"Fine." He grunted.

"Let's go." Stan ordered, grabbing his bag and heading eagerly for the door at the end of the isle. They stepped out of the bus and into the crowded street of Washington.

"So, which way?" Kenny wanted to know.

"Um…" Stan racked his brain, trying to remember. It was difficult considering he had been in a government plane on his last trip here.

"You don't know?" Kenny asked with a sigh.

"Well…I…uh…no not really." Kenny rolled his eyes.

"Whatever dude, we'll just ask someone. I'm sure someone in this city knows how to get to the Pentagon." Kenny glanced around for a moment before walking right up to the rapist pedophile guy.

"Hey, do you know which way the Pentagon is?" He asked innocently. _Jeez Kenny, you have to ask the creepiest looking guy you can find._ The man pointed down the street and gave Kenny instructions in a low gravelly voice. _Rapist voice._ Stan decided.

"Thank you!" Kenny called cheerfully. "Okay Stan, that guy said we were pretty close, we just had to go down this street until Lincoln Street and then we turn left. He said we should be able to find it after that."

"Seriously Kenny, did you have to pick the creepiest guy to ask, he looks like a rapist or something." Kenny just shrugged. Stan rolled his eyes. _Whatever. At least we're almost there. And we're finally off that goddamn bus._

***

The walk was unbearably long. Kyle wasn't sure how much longer his legs were going to hold out, he'd nearly tripped over his own two feet on several occasions already, much to his captor's annoyance.

"Can't you go any faster?" He would whine. Kyle bit back a snippy remark considering he really wasn't in any position to make snide comments. They walked on in silence for a little longer until he noticed a strange smell. It sort of smelled like burning flesh. As they rounded the next corner Kyle could see the source of it. The evil creatures had piled the dead corpses in a massive heap and set fire to them filling the air with the foul smell. Suddenly grateful he hadn't eaten anything for a while, Kyle tried to hold his breath to avoid the vile smell. He was suddenly aware of screaming and quickly averted his eyes, empty stomach clenching. Apparently not all of the bodies were dead. His guard gave him another rough shove and they continued down the colorful path, now stained with blood. _This is your fault._ A voice in his head taunted. _Without you they never would have gotten past the barrier. Way to go, stupid._ After what seemed like forever the path finally opened up to reveal a massive castle. The front yard of the castle may have once been a beautiful scene; lush grass, graceful trees and colorful flowers were now turned to a battlefield. The dark creatures were mowing down the good side with merciless force. The only thing holding the evil side at bay was the high wall of the castle.

"Okay kid, we need some way to take out that castle. A bomb, a tunneling machine, I don't care as long as it gets us in the castle." _Then what? _Kyle wondered. _Then I outlive my usefulness and you kill me off? _He thought of the sickening amount of carnage he already felt partly responsible for. He was not going to be responsible for any more.

"No." The storm trooper slowly turned to him.

"What?" Kyle swallowed and took a deep breath. His guard took a menacing step closer. Suddenly a cheer rang out above the noise of battle. Kyle turned back to the scene and saw a white flag waving slowly from atop the castle. The drawbridge was slowly lowering. The battle was over.

***

"Open the portal." Kyle ordered in an unearthly voice.

"Hey kid, what the hell are you doing here?" One of the scientists frowned, stepping too close. With a furious hiss Kyle seized the unfortunate man and hurled him against the nearest wall. There was a loud crack and the poor man slipped to the floor, clearly dead.

"Any more questions?" The scientists all traded looks. There was a moment of silence before they all returned to their terminals, entering various calculations.

"Calibrating now." One of them murmured. A blinding flash of light filled the room and everyone squinted before the light died down to a dim glow. The portal shimmered a light blue color, emitting a low hum.

"Finally." An evil grin slowly formed on Kyle's mouth as he took a step towards the ramp.

"Security breach in Sector 2!" A computerized voice announced suddenly.

"Sector 2?" Kyle frowned and turned suddenly. Stan and Kenny stood behind him.

"Where's Kyle?" Stan asked evenly.

"I don't have time for this!" The figure growled in his unearthly voice. He stalked purposefully towards the two boys. Stan hurriedly reached into his bag and pulled something out. A shot rang out and the advancing figure stopped, shuddering slightly and dropped.

"Dude! Did you just kill Kyle?" Cartman asked, arching an eyebrow. Stan rolled his eyes.

"Tranquilizer fatass."

"Damn."

"Uh oh…" One of the scientist commented. The room was suddenly bathed in an unearthly red and an alarm began beeping. Stan's face paled. He knew what that sound meant…

"Something's coming through from the other side…no wait…oh my God…there's…so many…"

***

"How's the prisoner Mr. Storm Trooper?" A cute voice asked from behind Kyle. The pair turned to see Rabbity Rabbit. The gray bunny cocked his head in a deceptively cute manner, waiting for a reply.

"I think he's outlived his purpose." The trooper replied. Kyle could almost hear the smile in his voice. The rabbit nodded.

"Okay, we can probably get rid of him…" A brilliant flash of light in front of the three abruptly cut the rabbit off mid-sentence. They averted their gaze a moment until the light dimmed.

"What the hell is this?" The trooper growled. The small animal cocked its head again, studying the shimmering blue circle that had appeared. Suddenly it's eyes lit up in excitement.

"Do you know what this is?!" He asked bouncing in excitement.

"No. I don't." Kyle's guard replied with deceptive calmness.

"I think this is the portal to the real world!" The bunny replied. Kyle's heart jumped. It was! This looked just like Project Imagination Doorway from the Pentagon. He was so close! So close to home! Only a few steps away…the storm trooper seemed to guess what he was thinking and roughly grabbed his arm. _No! I'm so close…_ Kyle turned to the man who had caused him misery for the last couple of days and concentrated his mind on one of Kenny's more gory deaths. _Die asshole!!_

"Hey…!" The storm trooper's head exploded in a bloody fountain and his body fell limply, releasing Kyle's arm. He could hear yelling from the evil creatures but nothing was stopping him now.

"…human is escaping…!"

"…the hell is that?"

"It's the way into the real world!" Manbearpig's voice rose above the rest. "Come everyone! Our next conquest is the world of the humans!" Kyle ignored them all. Just a few more steps…something wrapped around his leg sending him sprawling on his stomach. He stretched out, fingers almost brushing the shimmering surface. Squirming, he tried to get a look at his captor's face so he could blow the shit out of him but this guy was smarter than that. A hand shoved his face into the colorful grass and a sinister voice growled in his ear.

"Don't worry, I promise we'll let you see the destruction of your world."

DONE! Wow that took like half a month to write. Yikes. I blame it on exams. I just finished my Provincial English Exam today. (Yes, I'm Canadian so we have 'Provincial' Exams (No, we have more than one road, we pronounce it 'about', not 'aboot' your not my friend, guy or buddy and contrary to common belief the bottom half of our heads are attached the top half)) It's like this 4 day long exam and it SUCKS ASS! X_x On a more positive note I'm graduating in a few weeks (hooray!) so hopefully I'll have more time to write this summer and next year. :D

I think this story is almost over. The next chapter or the one after that will probably be the end. Once again, I love you all, thank you so much to all you dedicated readers and reviewers and good night! ^.^


	7. Chapter 7

**Whoo! Lookie, an update! Okay I'm sorry for those of you who thought I was dead by this time, but I've been very busy! I graduated, went to Mexico for the summer (and went bungee jumping!), got a new job as an English teacher and moved out of my house (and then moved back home). And then there are the technology problems I've been having as of late. First I got a virus (I call it Vista) then I had some sort of software issues and then another virus and then some hardware issues that cost me much $$$. XO Ugh. And now I'm using my laptop (cuz my other computer is getting wiped for like the third time) and the freaking 't' key keeps popping off. Technology hates me. Not to mention the writer's block I've had. I had almost finished this chapter when I realized I hated it, lol. So I re-did it. **

**Once again thank you all for your wonderful comments, they are probably the only reason this chapter came out at all! **

**I extend my deepest most sincere apologies for the long wait.**

**Now! On with the story!**

**Chapter 7 (version 2!)**

All hell was breaking loose now. The first few creatures that had come out of the portal had wasted no time in disembowelling anyone who even came close to standing in their way, although they didn't touch any equipment, Stan noted. It was horrifyingly similar to the last time he'd been to the Pentagon, complete with mass amounts of carnage. He and his friends huddled in the corner, next to the still unconscious form of the Kyle imposter.

"Now what?" Kenny hissed. Stan shook his head and glanced at Cartman.

"How did they get rid of Manbearpig last time, fat boy?"

"Ay!" Cartman protested, "I'm not fat, I'm-"

"Jesus Christ Cartman, you're fat now just get over it and answer the goddamn question!" Stan growled. Cartman glared at him.

"Not until you admit I'm big-boned, not fat."

"Oh for the love of-!"

"Just do it, Stan." Kenny sighed.

"And be grateful," Cartman added smugly, "If you were Kyle I would get you to kiss my ass instead." Swearing under his breath Stan rolled his eyes.

"Cartmanyou'renotfatyou'rebigboned, now for the love of God tell me how they got rid of Manbearpig!"

"I dunno, they hit a button or something." Cartman shrugged. Stan called upon all his willpower to keep him from strangling the boy in front of him.

"Which button, fatass? The fate of the whole freaking world might depend on this, so don't tell me you forget." Cartman surveyed the room without much interest.

"I dunno." He shrugged indifferently. Stan glared at the other boy, ready to beat the living daylights out of him when Kenny nudged him.

"Stan…is that…" Following the blonde's gaze, Stan turned to the monster that had just emerged from the shimmering blue portal. Was that…wait…what the f**k was going on here?!

***

Secure in the knowledge that Kyle's newly-mastered powers of killing didn't work as long as he remained out of sight, the large hairy monster that had grabbed him now carelessly held him by the head as they made their way through the portal. Kyle was much too busy gripping onto the arm holding him for dear life to be overly concerned with his whereabouts. He winced as the monster came to a halt, claws digging deeper into Kyle's scalp. If the creature gripped him any harder the boy was sure his skull would shatter like glass. He tried to push the uncomfortable picture out of his mind.

"What do we do now?" The demon holding Kyle growled in his low baritone voice.

"We wait until all the troops assemble, and then we launch our attack." Manbearpig growled back.

"What about this one?" Kyle grit his teeth as the monster swung him up by his head. He could feel blood trickling down the back of his head from the claws. He cracked open an eye to look at Manbearpig's horrible face, hoping to catch a clue as to his fate. The smile on the demon's face was enough to make him regret it.

"He was very helpful, wasn't he?" The creature paused thoughtfully. Kyle's arms trembled from the strain of supporting his weight for so long. He prayed they came to a conclusion soon; a day and a half without food was really starting to take its toll on his strength.

"Well you-" Manbearpig stopped abruptly to whirl upon a smaller monster who was examining a terminal.

"Don't touch that!" The larger shrieked. The other creature quickly shied away, cowering in fear. "If you press that button, we'll all be sucked back into that dimension." Manbearpig glared with a look that could kill.

"Sir?..." The monster holding Kyle interjected meekly, holding up the boy.

"Just throw it in a corner somewhere for now." Manbearpig replied in disgust, pushing past. The demon shrugged and followed instructions. Literally. The next thing Kyle knew he was flying through the air. His first thought was of relief; his arms had been about to give out. His second thought was on how painful the collision with the wall was going to be. _Oh shit…_ There was an explosion of pain and then blissful darkness. It didn't last as long as he would have liked though. His body welcomed him back to consciousness with a fresh wave of pain. Sitting up slowly he put a hand to his aching head and tried not to panic when it came away soaked in red.

"Kyle?" A familiar voice called out uncertainly. Kyle turned in surprise to see his three friends. Well, his two friends and Cartman anyway. Cartman was glaring at him like this whole mess was his fault and Stan and Kenny were staying at a safe distance, exchanging looks.

"What do you think?" The hooded boy asked.

"I dunno dude, this is just really f**ked up…" Stan replied, glancing at Kyle again. What the hell was going on here anyway? He slowly climbed to his knees and noticed Stan and Kenny edge away uncertainly, almost fearfully. What the hell?

"What are you guys doing here?" He croaked out. Damn, did his voice really sound that bad? Kyle hoped that impact hadn't broken anything, although he knew he should be grateful just to be alive. Kenny probably wouldn't get so lucky.

"Kyle, is that really you?" Stan asked, from his safe spot.

"Really me…? What the hell?" His friend glanced at him once then glanced at something to his left. Kyle followed the gaze and he felt his eyes widen. Despite everything he had already seen his mind could still hardly comprehend this. A body lay on the ground, looking bizarrely tranquil in the midst of all the chaos. It was clad in clean clothes and looked in much better shape, but Kyle could still recognize himself. Borrowing a line from his best friend he finally managed to speak.

"Dude, this is pretty f**ked up right here."

"You're telling me." Stan muttered. Kenny nudged him.

"So you think it's…?" Stan glanced from Kyle to the clone still sleeping peacefully on the ground. _How the hell can he even sleep through all this? _He glanced at his two friends who were watching him very closely. _Oh God, now I have to prove to them I'm really Kyle? _He briefly wondered about Stan and Kenny's initial hesitancy. _What has this imposter done anyway? _He quickly shoved these thoughts out of his mind. There would be time for that later. For now he had to find some way to get rid of the problem at hand; namely several hundred demons that looked like they had crawled up straight from the pit of hell itself.

"Kyle?" He heard Stan call out hesitantly. He was busily scanning the room, trying to ignore the fire in his shoulder. Something was definitely broken, he decided grimly.

"That button," Kyle answered, pointing with his good arm to a red button outlined in yellow and black stripes. It was the kind of button that just screamed 'Do not touch!'

"What?" Stan asked.

"That's the button that reverses the portal." Kyle answered. The two boys eyed the amount of monsters that crowded the general vicinity.

"Uh…there's kinda a lot of…" Stan began. Kyle sighed.

"I know…"

"Besides, I don't even know if you're telling the truth or not…"

"What?" Kyle turned towards his best friend in annoyance. Stan shrugged helplessly. Kyle grit his teeth, glancing at the blue portal. The last of the creatures were just pouring through now. In a few minutes they would begin destroying everything. He pictured the horrors of Imaginationland happening here in the real world and shuddered. No, he couldn't allow that to happen. Not to everyone here. Not again. He braced himself against the pain and lunged forward, focusing on the button. Almost there…so close… He was going to make it! Kyle reached out, his fingertips just brushing the red plastic before his feet were knocked out from under him. He went down hard, his head narrowly missing the edge of the terminal. Frankenstein lifted him up by his leg swinging teasingly close to the red button that would end this madness.

"What do you think you're doing?" The monster asked. Kyle kicked in frustration, still reaching for the button. It wasn't fair. After all the shit he'd put up with, to be stopped this close to his goal. He tried to twist out of the creature's grasp but the giant man was stronger then he looked. And he looked pretty damn strong. Frankenstein leaned in closer and was met by a kick in the face. Kyle grunted in satisfaction as he heard a loud cracking sound.

"By dose! Du broke by dose!" The monster howled, holding his bleeding nose with his free hand.

"Now put me down asshole!" Kyle yelled, swinging wildly.

"Stop kicking, you little bastard!" Frankenstein threatened.

"Then put me down!" Kyle seethed in exasperation.

"I have a better idea," the creature answered darkly, grabbing Kyle's free leg with its other hand. "You stop kicking or I start tearing limbs off." Kyle froze.

"Okay." He swallowed. From the other side of the room Kyle heard a loud bang like a gunshot. His curiosity burned but Frankenstein was in the way of his view.

"Goddamnit my nose hurts you little asshole," the giant mumbled, "I should…just killll youuu…noooowwww." His speech slurred and his grip lessened. "Whaaattttthehellll…" The monster slumped over dropping Kyle next to the terminal. Confused, Kyle glanced at Frankenstein who appeared to have fallen into a deep sleep. Then he noticed the dart in the back of the pasty giant's neck. _A tranquilizer?_ He glanced up and noticed Stan was now holding a gun and smiling. _Damn, he's got good aim._ Kyle shook his head. He would congratulate his friend on his marksmanship later; right now there was a more important matter to attend to. He stood and reached for the button again.

"NO!" A voice roared behind him and Kyle felt claws hook into the abused fabric of his jacket. _Not this time! _He vowed determinedly. His palm hit the switch before the arm attached to the claws could completely pull him in. The effect was immediate. The portal sparked wildly, whirling faster. The nearest enemy, an unfortunate storm trooper was sucked through before he could even figure out what was going on.

"No!" The creature holding him roared again. With a frightening sense of nostalgia, Kyle realized it was Manbearpig. The huge creature fought the pull of the portal but it was no use. Screaming obscenities, the monster was dragged through the doorway to the imagination once again, which would have been fine, if he had not taken Kyle with him.

***

"Waugh!" Cartman yelled as the shimmering blue portal sucked him closer. He tried to slow his slide and managed to snag the edge of a demolished computer terminal.

"How do we stop it?!" Kenny yelled from across the room, hanging onto a heavy desk for dear life.

"The button!" Stan hollered back. "Cartman, you're the closest! You have to hit that button again!"

"Jesus Christ, do I have to do everything around here?!" Cartman growled in reply. Heaving himself closer to the destroyed terminal that was currently his only lifeline Cartman surveyed the room. The computer terminal with the button was fairly close, but it would mean letting go and letting the portal drag him closer so he could reach the other terminal. And there was that chance that he could get sucked into Imaginationland with all those hellish creatures. It was not an appealing thought. Mentally cursing out the goddamn Jew that had gotten him into this situation in the first place, Cartman let go of his only lifeline, feeling the portal draw him closer. He almost missed it too. The edge of his target slipped out of his grasp for a moment and for a terrifying second, he thought he might not make it. Then his hand found purchase on the metal base and he slowed himself, pulling his body closer. Cartman hauled himself up to a standing position and quickly hit the button. The current stopped and the portal returned to its calm blue color. There was a long moment of silence that followed, and then Kenny sighed.

"Thank God that's over." A voice piped up. One of the handfuls of remaining scientists surveyed the room from the opposite corner. There was a murmur of agreement from the other scientists and Kenny.

"What about Kyle?" Stan voiced.

"The little boy with the orange coat?" One of the scientists asked.

"Yeah, did you see what happened to him?" Stan asked hopefully.

"That giant Manbear creature had him when he was drawn back through the portal." The technician gave Stan a sympathetic glance.

"No it was really more of a half man half pigbear thing." Another of the technicians spoke up.

"No, I think it was more of a…" The scientists continued discussing the logistics of Manbearpig as Stan approached the portal determinedly.

"Stan, what are you doing?" Kenny asked suspiciously.

"I'm going in after them." Stan answered, turning to face his friend.

"Stan-"

"Look Kenny, we came all the way here to look for Kyle, I'm not giving up now. That really was him too, I'm sure of it."

"But Stan-"

"Don't try to talk me out of it."

"I'm not trying to talk you out of anything. Look." Kenny pointed behind Stan. The raven-haired boy turned, his mouth dropping in surprise.

***

Kyle's face was once again pressed close to the earth, to avoid any violent deaths on the evil army's part. He was pretty sure his nose was currently buried in the remains of the exploded storm trooper's intestines and prayed he was wrong.

"You little bastard!" Manbearpig seethed. "Do you really think this will stop us? What will stop us from marching right back through that portal and destroying your world?" _He's right._ Kyle realized in despair. _I have to stop them now…_ He clenched his jaw as his head was pushed harder into the earth. There had to be some way to stop them. What could possibly take out a whole army? Suddenly the thought came to him. _Oh shit…there has to be something else…_ It was getting difficult to breathe now. He had a feeling Manbearpig planned to kill him here and now. _Then it doesn't really matter, does it?_ He asked himself. He closed his eyes and thought hard, remembering the moment, the fear, the confusion, the strange whistling noise in the air… The pressure on his head lessened suddenly.

"What's that?" Manbearpig growled, then froze, no doubt spotting the rapidly growing speck in the sky. With a fierce growl he turned back to Kyle.

"Don't you dare!" The monster hissed as the whistling got closer. "Get rid of it! Now!" Kyle smirked to himself. This was really the end. This was how he was going to die. He waited for the fear, but it didn't come. Maybe he had used up all his fear if that was even possible. All he knew was that he was so tired of feeling afraid, tired of being in pain, tired of all this crazy shit, hell he was just plain tired.

"Get rid of it!" Manbearpig screamed, twisting his good arm in a painful position. Kyle took a deep breath, knowing what was coming and relieved that it wouldn't last long.

"No." He said, his voice muffled by the ground. He heard the snap the moment before the pain started. The creature was panicking now as it grabbed Kyle's other arm, twisting it in the same threatening position.

"NOW!" Manbearpig roared desperately. Even as the tears of pain rolled down his cheeks, Kyle smirked, secure in the knowledge that Manbearpig wouldn't have enough time to break his other arm. He was right.

***

The portal shimmered one last time and then vanished. Stan stared at the metal ring that had once contained the ethereal blue portal.

"What happened?" He whispered. Then louder. "What happened!?" The technicians finally stopped their conversation on Manbearpig's anatomy and noticed the disappearance of the portal. One of the scientists made his way over to one of the few still-working computers. He tapped a few keys then frowned.

"It…it would appear…our imaginations have ceased to exist."

"What?!" Kenny demanded, looking at the man like he'd sprouted a second head. "Is that even possible?"

"It's strange…but it's exactly like when the government nuked it."

"A nuke?" Stan cried, "but…what about Kyle?..." It was a stupid question, he knew, but had to ask.

"I'm sorry, I'm not picking up any traces of life on the other side…everything on the other side has ceased to exist…including our imaginations themselves, which is why the portal vanished." The scientist replied. Kenny asked another question, but Stan wasn't listening to their conversation anymore.

"Ceased to exist?" The boy whispered, turning towards the empty ring that had held the portal. After this whole messed up journey, it was over just like that? He felt the tears well up in his eyes and angrily swatted them away. His best friend…gone…it was a reality he'd never wanted to face. He still had nightmares about the time when Kyle's kidneys had failed him; it had been such a close call. _You're my best friend. I don't want you to die until I do. _That was the moment when he realized just how mortal human beings truly are, how easily death could rip apart a friendship like nothing else, and how much he took those closest to him for granted sometimes. Foolishly, he'd assumed he'd learned his lesson and now his life would continue on normally without any tragedies such as this. The tears came again and Stan didn't even bother wiping them away this time. It would be futile anyway.

"Stan?" He could hear Kenny walking up to him. He turned away from his friend, not in the mood to be comforted.

"Hey, Stan." Kenny repeated, edging a little closer. Stan ignored the boy. He did not want hollow words of comfort now, for Christ's sakes, he'd just lost his best friend! He should be allowed to have a moment or two in peace!

"Stan." Kenny repeated for a third time, placing a hand on the other's shoulder. Stan didn't want to hear it. Words were meaningless and empty. They had no power at all. Nothing anyone could say would ever change things, no mere words would ever bring Kyle back.

"Stan, Kyle might not be dead. There might be a way to get him back yet." _Then again,_ Stan reasoned, _I could be wrong._

**IT'S DONE! Not the story of course, but this chapter. Hurray! Okay, only one more chapter to go, and maybe an epilogue. Yay! As usual, comments, questions and such are always appreciated, and I just want to take this opportunity to thank those of you who have stuck with me so far. Thank you and good night! Or…afternoon…whatever.**


	8. Chapter 8

Holy crap, I'm alive! Well, after taking into consideration the sanity of some of my fans I decided it would be in my best interest to update this story. Thank you to all the people who have stuck with this story so far, and if you are reading this, thank you for your patience! I love you all and you are the reason there is a chapter 8! By the way, I have a horrible twisted, sadistic, depraved mind and I really let it go with this chapter. If you are easily sickened, you may want to skip some stuff. Just a friendly warning! XD

**Chapter 8 (The last chapter!)**

Kenny glanced uncertainly at Stan's eager tear-stained face. His friend had tried to wipe all traces of wetness from his cheeks, but the evidence was still pretty obvious.

"How?" Stan repeated.

"This is only an educated guess." The parka-clad boy cautioned his friend. Stan didn't even seem to hear him.

"How?" Stan insisted again. Kenny glanced at the technician behind him who had helped him come to his conclusion. The man shrugged his shoulders, his blood-spattered lab coat rising and falling with a gentle swish. He gestured to Kenny as if to say: "It's all you, man." Kenny sighed and turned back to his expectant friend.

"Well, he began hesitantly, "Earl told me that the computer claims no real humans have passed through the portal within the last few days, only imaginary creatures."

"So that means that wasn't the real Kyle then?" Stan asked, frowning.

"That would be the easiest solution," Kenny agreed, but Earl also told me that he'd overheard some of those evil creatures talking about how that Kyle had imagined things into existence in Imaginationland. Well, they were talking about how he'd apparently made some guy's head explode into tiny pieces, and from what you guys told me, the only ones who can imagine things into existence are real living, breathing humans."

"That's right," Stan's frown deepened, looking at Kenny questioningly. "What does that mean then?" Kenny took a deep breath.

"From here, it's all just speculation." He warned his friend.

"Yeah, yeah!" Stan interrupted impatiently, "Just tell me already!"

"That," Kenny said, pointing to the non-existent portal, "was the real Kyle's soul, which somehow ended up in Imaginationland, and that," he moved his finger to point to the still unconscious form in the corner, "is Kyle's real body with…uh…some other soul inside." Stan took a moment to register this.

"How did Kyle's soul get separated from his body?"

"I don't know."

"Do you think it had to do with the nightmares he was having?" Stan pressed.

"I don't know." Kenny shrugged.

"If that's not Kyle, who is it?" Stan demanded.

"Dude. I. Don't. Know." The dark-haired boy sighed in frustration for a moment before turning to Kenny again.

"Okay, let's assume you're right. How does that help anything? If that," He nodded his head in the general direction of the former portal, "was really Kyle, then that just means he really is dead."

"Not necessarily." Kenny replied, hoping he was right. If he was wrong, Stan would probably be pissed off enough to kill him. Repeatedly.

Cartman was glad everyone else was occupied because he could guess what those fags all would be thinking if they saw the look on his face. It wasn't that he really cared what happened to Kyle. Hell no, that wasn't it. This whole experience was just traumatizing. That was the cause of the tightness in his stomach, the trembling in his limbs, the lump in his throat. _You're not even fooling yourself._ He mentally scoffed. This was not how things were supposed to work out. It was something Cartman thought he'd had figured about all their crazy-ass adventures in South Park. Everything always turned out okay. Kenny would come back to life, Stan would continue being a pussy, Kyle would still have sand in his vagina and Cartman would go home and eat cheesy poofs. That's how things were supposed to work. That's how it always happened, and he was sure the pattern would continue indefinitely. This, this was not supposed to happen. Just like this feeling in the pit of his stomach, which was not supposed to exist. He felt as though there was something he should have done; something that would make this all right again. Some magical cure that would fix all this. Cartman shook his head. Why was he stressing so much about someone he didn't care about? _Because with that goddamn Jew gone, things will never be the same in South Park._ That annoying voice in his head reminded him. And of course like all other mental voices, his was annoyingly correct. Stan, being the little pussy that he was would probably turn into such a whiny little bitch Cartman wouldn't want to be anywhere near him, Kenny would remain poor as hell and worst of all, he would have to go back to picking on Butters again. Cartman winced, remembering what a lousy Jew Butters made. _Damnit Kyle._

"Well, you know how I always come back to life, right?" Kenny began.

"Yeah." Stan's voice revealed he was not impressed thus far.

"It's kind of the same thing." Kenny continued. Stan was still not impressed.

"Meaning…?" He prompted.

"Someone explained it to me. I think it was God if I'm right. The reason I keep coming back to life is because my body is immortal."

"Immortal?" Stan asked, interested now in spite of everything.

"AS long as the soul has a live body to return to, it will."

"So," Stan said slowly, processing this new information, "then the time your parents had your body cremated…you couldn't come back to life."

"Well, I did eventually," Kenny answered ruefully, "it just took one hell of a long time."

"And when Cartman drank your ashes…" Stan continued, beginning to understand.

"I was stuck in his fat body for a while." Kenny finished.

"So, if that's Kyle's real body…"

"And it's still alive…" Kenny added with a smile.

"His soul will return to it?"

"In theory."

"Why were there 2 Kyles then? Where did the other come from?"

"I don't know, Earl thought that when Kyle's soul ended up in Imaginationland, it would have subconsciously imagined a body into existence."

"Okay, what about that "other soul" you were talking about? The one that's in his body now?" Stan asked worriedly. Kenny only shrugged helplessly.

"I don't know, Stan. When I got stuck in Cartman's body it was like a constant battle to try and control his body, but since it was his body, he usually won." Stan frowned.

"What is this other soul anyway? It's obviously evil as hell…"

"I know," Kenny reminded Stan bitterly. "He killed me, remember?"

"Where did it come from?"

"Imaginationland?" Kenny offered with a shrug. "Really Stan, I don't know, this is mostly just a guess."

"How will we know?"

"We just have to wait for him to wake up." Kenny replied, glancing again at the unconscious figure. "How long do those darts last anyway?"

"I don't know; my uncle never really uses them." Remembering Stan's uncle, Kenny didn't wonder why. They watched the still body for a few more moments, and Kenny watched carefully to make sure the chest really was rising and falling. It was.

"This will work, right?" Stan asked, desperately.

"Of course," Kenny assured him, "I mean, it should," and then with less conviction, "I hope." Stan shot him a nervous glance then returned to watching the sleeping form of his best friend. Kenny thought back to the first time he had died. The details were hazy but he could still remember the confusion, the fear and more than anything, the disturbing notion that his entire life had been a dream. It was one of the things he hadn't mentioned to Stan. Without the will to return to earth, the soul could be doomed to wander the void between heaven, earth and hell forever. No, that was definitely something he would not mention to Stan.

It was dark. Not the kind of dark you see at night. Not the kind of dark you see when you close your eyes. Not even the kind of dark you see when you're trying to sneak a snack from the fridge downstairs and you stub your toe on every piece of furniture in the house. No, this was deeper than any of those. It wasn't the presence of darkness so much as the complete absence of anything. It wasn't darkness, it was nothingness. _I think I'm dead._ _Would I be able to think if I were dead? Isn't there some sort of saying about 'I think, therefore I am' or some shit like that? Yeah, Mr. Garrison actually taught us something useful…Mr. Garrison who is Mr. Garrison. Where did that name come from? Is it my name? _It didn't feel right. _What is my name? _It wouldn't come. There was just that hazy feeling like waking up from a dream and trying to discern reality from imagination. _Maybe this is a dream…it sure doesn't feel real. I can't move my arms…where are my arms? And legs…and head…? Oh Christ, I really am dead, aren't I?_ It was the strangest feeling to be a floating consciousness in the expanse of nothingness. It was mind-blowing. It was creepy. It was frightening. It was…_lonely. Is this all there is? Maybe this is all there ever was…_ Then the doubts came. The distant memories of anything else were fading faster now. _Maybe that was just a dream and this is reality. _And who was to say that wasn't true? Of course this was all there was. It was just ridiculous to think of anything else. There was no such thing as life or death, there was no form to anything, just endless thoughts floating in this emptiness. That was all there was. All there is. All there ever will be… Acceptance. There should be acceptance of this obvious truth, but something was wrong. _No, there's something I'm forgetting here…but what…_ the thought was elusive, coming almost teasingly within grasp. _What…what am I missing? _It was infuriating, this elusive thought. The pain came as if in punishment for trying to deny to obvious reality. _No, there was something else yet!...I know there is…what…what is it…there is something I should remember…something I should…something…remember…something…_ And just when the knowledge seemed to slip away forever, never to be grasped…_IMAGINATIONLAND! MANBEARPIG! STAN, KENNY, MOM, DAD, IKE! There was the bomb and the explosion and Manbearpig and me and…and…_ The information kept pouring into his mind and the pain came again, this time from too much knowledge pouring into his mind. _Kyle. My name is Kyle Broflovski. My name is Kyle Broflovski and I died…so what the hell is this?!_

"Shouldn't he be awake by now?" Stan asked for the umpteenth time. Kenny sighed and rolled his eyes. _He's getting really annoyed with me._ Stan realized.

"Asking isn't going to change anything you know." Kenny told him. Stan could hear the suppressed annoyance in his friend's voice.

"Sorry." Stan muttered, turning back to the unconscious figure. _Hey, did his eye just twitch?_

"Kenny! I think he's waking up!" Stan called excitedly. He turned back to the person lying next to him and yelped in surprise when he saw eyelids snap open. The eyes surveyed the room for a moment before coming to rest on Stan's worried face. Stan swallowed, noticing the eyes were not his friend's normal green, but a deep blood red.

_Where am I? Why does this feel kind of familiar?_

_ "Hello Kyle, it's been a while, hasn't it?" That voice! That horrible voice! I can't be here! I'm dead! Is this hell? Is it because I'm Jewish? Oh God, don't tell me Cartman was right…_

_ "No, you are not dead. Far from it in fact, but soon, you will wish you were." He was trapped in the horrible place that had haunted his nightmares for weeks. _

"Kyle-" Stan's voice was cut short by his friend sitting up sharply and looking around.

"What happened…?" The red eyes swept the room a final time before narrowing on Stan's face.

"What happened?! You've destroyed everything, haven't you?!" The deep unearthly voice that definitely did not belong to his super best friend howled in rage.

"Kyle, if you're in there-" Stan's voice was cut off again, this time by a sharp fist hitting him right below his rib cage. Gasping for breath, Stan sank to the floor.

"You've destroyed everything!" Red eyes swung to where the portal used to exist and widened substantially.

"The fear…I don't feel it anymore. Imaginationland…gone…" Intent on taking out his rage on the nearest thing he could find, the terrifying creature that bore a resemblance to his friend turned on the ragtag group of scientists and children.

_The horrifying shadow creature moved closer and the darkness enveloped Kyle, plunging him into a world of intense fear. Everything he had felt until this moment was forgotten. The past few days of running for his life, facing Manbearpig, even the last few weeks of nightmares paled in comparison to this all encompassing fear. Horrible images flooded his mind, blood, death, burning red eyes, pain like nothing he'd ever known, twisted smiles laughing at him, pointed teeth dripping thickly with red, a face dissolving into a screaming, bleeding skull that began laughing maniacally between screams of bloody murder. Screaming, wailing noises coming from a pile of bodies that were burning alive, horrible skeletal figures, bleeding an unnatural amount staggered closer, nauseatingly thin claws outstretched, faces frozen in a look of pure horror, blood oozing from eyes, mouths and noses in great gushes. Grating high pitched laughter oozed along with the blood, shrill and piercing. The smell of death, blood and vomit wove a nauseating tapestry through the air, thickly clogging his nostrils. The horrible monsters came closer and grabbed him, ripping and tearing. Pain flooded through him to his very soul. Teeth ripped the skin off his body like ripping the crunchy coating off of KFC chicken. Blood poured in unnatural volume, like an erupting volcano covering everything in its thick warmth. And through it all, Kyle was aware of himself screaming, but the sound didn't register. Nothing did through the unspeakable terror. He was sinking deeper into a pit of it, dimly aware that there was no escape from this. This, this was all there was. _

_ "No!" He screamed deaf to the sounds of his own mouth. "NOOOOOOOO!" He closed his eyes, shaking his head. It was a bad dream, that's all. He had to wake up._

_ "Wake up, wake up, goddamn it, wake up!"_

_ "Wake up, Kyle…" That voice didn't belong to him, who…? He fought the fear, trying to shove it back, clinging desperately to the one ray of light in the darkness of his fear saturated mind._

_ "Please…"_

Stan could feel the wall at his back as the form of his best friend stalked closer, wrath glowing in his crimson eyes. With inhuman strength his friend's body slammed Stan against the wall, fingers curling around his neck.

"C'mon dude…" Stan pleaded, trying not to let his voice shake. "Wake up, Kyle…" The creature hesitated for a moment. "Please…" The red eyes wavered for a moment before blinking. Green irises replaced the blood-red ones and Stan knew his friend was back, if only for a moment.

"Stan?" Kyle choked out before he was gone again, a sinister look coming over his face again. Kenny's words came back to him …_it was like a constant battle to try and control his body… _He could only hope Kyle would be the winner. The grip around his neck tightened until the edges of his world began to fade. He was dimly aware of a loud thump and then the hands fell limply from their death grip. His best friend fell limply to the floor and Kenny with his death grip on nearby fire extinguisher glanced from the now unconscious figure to Stan.

"You okay?" He asked. Stan nodded, rubbing his neck.

"Yeah, I think I'll be okay. Thanks." Kenny nodded. There was a groan at their feet and both boys quickly turned to the not-so-unconscious form of Kyle. Kenny raised the fire extinguisher threateningly, but was not fast enough to avoid a swift kick between the legs. He fell to the ground, gasping. Stan winced in sympathy, but before he could move, the creature picked up the extinguisher Kenny had dropped and used it to crush the skull of the still writhing boy.

"Oh my God, you killed Kenny…again…"

_Pulled back into the depths of his personal hell, Kyle struggled against the fear that tugged at his very soul like chains. The fear surrounded him, made him forget what he was even fighting for. _

_ "No…please leave me alone!" His pleas went unheard as the sickening demons circled him again, his mind flashing with horrors of every kind. No. He couldn't succumb to the fear; he had to get out of here. Anything was better than this, even the empty nothingness. Oh what he wouldn't give to return to that peaceful emptiness! And then he could feel himself slowly floating away again. He gratefully embraced this return to the floating realm of nothingness. An eternity of darkness was far better than one of eternal fear. _

_ "Thank God." Kyle thought as his last remnants of consciousness slipped back to the blissful silence. _

_ "Kyle? Is that you?" The voice was foreign, alien, so completely unexpected, it jarred him out of his peaceful reverie. _

_ "Wh-who's there?"_

_ "Dude, it really is you! Wow!" If he'd had a body instead of existing as a floating consciousness, Kyle would have frowned in deep thought. That voice sounded familiar, but different somehow. Suddenly it came to him._

_ "Kenny?!" He was hardly able to recognize the usually muffled voice of his friend._

_ "Yeah dude," Kenny replied, slightly mystified. _

_ "Where are you? Hell, where am I?" _

_ "Well, I died again, so I guess this means my guess was correct."_

_ "Wait, you mean I'm dead?" It was rather disconcerting to talk to someone you couldn't see. It was like some crazy telepathic communication or something. It might have been cool if it wasn't so creepy._

_ "Sort of, but it's not permanent."_

_ "Oh, okay, I'm dead, but it's not permanent. Well, that makes perfect sense." Kyle hoped his thoughts sounded as sarcastic to Kenny as they did to him. Apparently Kenny caught on to cynicism. _

_ "If I had a body right now, I would be rolling my eyes," the other boy replied, "look, this is what happens to me whenever I die, and we both know I don't stay dead."_

_ "Okay, so when do I magically come back to life?"_

_ "I don't know, after a while your soul just returns to your body." Kenny replied._

_ "But…that…that thing is in my body…"_

_ "So? Kyle, the only way you're going to get your body back is to fight that thing. For some reason it's in your body; you're the only one who can fight it."_

_ "But…" Kyle was at a loss for what to say. How could he possibly convey the horrors of the things he had seen while trapped in his own mind? "That thing…it…scares me." There was a moment of silence between the two. Kenny wasn't even sure what to say._

_ "Kyle, do you know what that thing is or where it came from?"_

_ "From Imaginationland. It said…uh…it called itself 'fear'."_

_ "Fear?"_

_ "Yeah, apparently it's made up of all the fear that everyone has or something…"_

_ "So it's all the fear that everyone has ever felt?"_

_ "Apparently."_

_ "Damn."_

_ "No kidding."_

_ "How do you fight that?"_

_ "How should I know?" There was another moment of silence then Kenny laughed._

_ "Dude! I got it! The only thing to fear is fear itself!" Kyle wasn't impressed._

_ "That thing is fear itself."_

_ "No, listen, if that thing was from Imaginationland then-"_

_ "Kenny?" Only silence greeted him. _

_ "Oh my god, they brought Kenny back to life. You bastards."_

"Kyle?" Kenny blinked, noting with dismay that he had eyelids to blink with. _Damn..._ Climbing shakily to his feet, the hooded boy quickly scanned the room. Kyle's imposter was nowhere to be seen and neither was Stan, which was worrisome. Paramedics had started to flock to the scene, trying to keep the situation under control.

"Get off of me, asshole!" A familiar voice called out in annoyance. Kenny turned to see a flustered paramedic trying to examine Cartman.

"Look kid, I'm just doing my job, I have to make sure you don't have a concussion or any other form of trauma." The EMT told him irritably. Cartman swatted away the penlight the man insisted on shining directly in his eyes, prepared to give him a piece of his mind.

"Cartman! Did you see where Stan and Kyle went?" Kenny butted in. Cartman glared at him a moment before jerking a thumb behind him, gesturing vaguely to the outside.

"The crazy Jew took off and Stan followed him right before these assholes showed up."

"Thanks," Kenny nodded, pointedly ignoring the gaping look the EMT was giving him.

"Wasn't that...the dead kid...?" The man finally managed to stutter. Kenny picked up his pace before someone could follow him, hoping he could find his friends without too much trouble.

They had barely made it out of the pentagon before a voice stopped Stan in his tracks.

"Stop following me!" The body of his best friend hissed, whirling on Stan. The boy shrank back, he'd thought he was doing a pretty good job at remaining stealthy, but apparently this was not the case.

"Kyle..." Stan called out shakily, "Dude, if you're in there you've got to snap out of it..."_  
_ "Enough of this!" The demonic voice shrieked. With inhuman speed the imposter leaped at Stan who stumbled backwards, trying to escape. He tripped over his own feet, falling on his back. This turned out to be lucky for him as the beast inside his friend has misjudged his jump and instead of pouncing on the other boy, he merely tripped over his prone body. In the tangle of limbs Stan managed to keep the hands from grasping his neck by instinctively throwing out his hands, somehow landing a blow to the other's nose. Though he may have possessed super-human strength, his body was still mortally fragile and the force of Stan's blow was still enough to crack something in the other's nose. Roaring in pain, the possessed child reeled back, allowing Stan to slip out of his grasp. He wasn't sure how much longer he could evade the monster, but he would be damned if he went down without a fight!

"Stan!" A breathless voice called. He turned just long enough to see Kenny running up to them. The boy's eyes widened a moment. "Stan! Look out!" Stan turned to see the body of his best friend making another manic leap at him and he managed to get out of the way yet again. The dark-haired boy watched in surprise as Kenny tackled the now off-balance boy, pinning him to the ground.

"Run!" Kenny yelled still out of breath. "Stan! Run now!" The monster thrashed beneath Kenny's comparitively feeble grip and despite the warning Stan hurried to aid his friend.

_That thing is going to kill everyone. All because I was too scared to fight it. _It was a depressing thought to be sure, Kyle supposed but still brighter than the alternative of facing that monster again. It was selfish of him, but hell, he'd already completed his selfless act of the day by destroying Imaginationland, how much more did the world want from him? _I'm sorry everyone. I'm sorry Stan, Kenny, Mom, Dad, Ike, hell I'm even sorry for Cartman, bastard that he is. I can't do it. I can't face that thing. _There was no alternative, so why did he feel so bad about it? _Goddamnit! Why can't I just not give a damn, like Cartman? Why do I have to care and feel guiltly for all this?! None of this was my fault! I've already gone through hell, why should I have to endure any more?_ The answer did not come, but the feeling did not go away. If he'd had a form Kyle would have shaken his head stubbornly. _No, I don't want to do this..._ He could already feel the apprehension in his mind, and could almost imagine the feeling of his heart racing a mile a minute with fear. Kenny had laughed. Had he been able to, Kyle would have frowned. Why would Kenny have laughed? He knew something that Kyle didn't. Something that made this situation laughable. _That's because he didn't have to go through what I did!_ Kyle mentally raged. _Maybe he dies all the time, but that's easy compared to this!_ _Oh God, I'm going to have to go back, aren't I?_ He could already feel his comfy nothingness float away. _Kenny laughed. There must be some way to fight this. _That meant resistance wasn't futile. There was some way to fight back. Some easy, laughable solution to this problem. _I don't want to do this._ Kyle could feel tears of frustration and fear building up inside him. _"The only thing to fear, is fear itself." _That was what Kenny had told him with a chuckle. _I don't understand. I'm afraid. I'm afraid of fear and of that creature, Fear. What did he mean...?_

_ "Hello, Kyle." Kyle felt his stomach drop to his feet. _Oh God no...please..._ His mind wished desperately. _Not this...please not again..._He didn't want to be here. Not here in this dark place. What if he couldn't get out this time? What if he could never get out? The fear began to wash over him, making his breaths come out in desperate hitched gasps. The warm breath of death and decay washed over him from behind. Everything in him told him not to turn around, but he felt himself slowly turning to face his demise. Blood soaked teeth greeted him and Kyle was sure his heart stopped for a moment. Unfortunately the traitorous organ resumed beating at an abnormally high rate. The demon laughed at his fear, growing and becoming more grotesque. The scream that wanted to come out died in Kyle's throat as he slid to the ground, panic gripping him tightly. The monster responded again, smoldering eyes revealing the promise of pain and despair that would drag on for all eternity. The tiniest part of Kyle's mind that was not yet paralyzed in fear noticed this. _It responds to my fear._ With that sudden revelation, Kyle realized what Kenny had meant. The realization hit him and his green eyes widened even more than they already were. _My fear. That thing is only my fear. _With Imaginationland destroyed, the only fear the beast could feed off of was Kyle's. _How do you conquer your fears?_ Kyle asked himself. He didn't like the answer, but there wasn't an alternative. _Acknowledge your fear. Then move past it._ Not even sure if his mouth would work Kyle turned to the beast, meeting the blood-red eyes. _Oh God let this work...

_ "I am afraid of you." Kyle was amazed at the steadiness of his voice. He only wished his mind could mirror the certainty his voice conveyed. "But I won't let you stop me any more. This is my mind, and my body, damn it, and I want it back!" The demon made a low growl in the depths of his throat, baring the dripping fangs and moving closer to Kyle' head. Yet somehow in a way he couldn't describe, the action wasn't as threatening as it had once been. In fact, Kyle found himself shakily climbing to his feet to proclaim his next sentence. _

_ "I want you out! I won't let you control my life any longer!" Maybe that was why this had happened. For as long as he could remember, in some twisted way, fear had run his life long before this incident. With all the twisted things that went on in South Park, Kyle supposed the fear of death or bodily harm would be on any resident's mind, but he knew that wasn't the only fear that had run his life. Fear of failure was the reason he pushed himself so hard in school, he didn't want to be a failure, he wanted to live up to his parents' expectations, he wanted to get out of this crazy town and do something with his life. Then there was the fear of rejection. His friends had abandoned him before and there were plenty of times when he'd wondered if even his super best friend would ever talk to him again. It always seemed to be Kyle that would be singled out from the group and cast aside and there was always that fear that one day, it might be for good. And of course the recent events had pushed his fears into overdrive lately. Fear of death, fear of pain, fear of losing everyone he cared about, and of course fear of fear itself. Enough was enough. He was not going to let fear run his life any more._

_ The dripping jaws slowly began to close around his head, but Kyle was emboldened by his new resolve and yelled out as loud as he could into the jaws of death._

_ "I AM NOT AFRAID OF FEAR! You don't own my life any more!" The demon coiled back as if struck and hissed threateningly, but Kyle could see it was a desperate noise like a cornered animal. His body was shaking with the effects of adrenaline and he could feel the tremble in his legs that threatened to give at any moment. His mind felt the same, holding desperately to this scrap of strength he possessed, this power over the beast that had plagued him for so long._

_ "This is my mind," Kyle said, his voice low and threatening to break, "And I am not afraid. Get out." With a screeching whine like nails on a blackboard the demon that had haunted him for so long curled in on itself, writhing and thrashing in its death throes and finally, finally dissapearing completely. Kyle stood a moment longer, not entirely sure if he could believe the thing was actually gone, before letting the weariness of his body and mind wash over him, collapsing to the ground. He closed his eyes for a moment before blinking into the harsh bright light of the sun. _

"Kyle?" He was aware of something heavy on his back, pinning his arms in a painful position behind him. Two somethings actually and one of them was cautiously addressing him. He felt some of the weight lift as the something talking to him carefully climbed off his back.

"Careful, Stan." Warned the other figure still holding his arms in that painful position. His line of sight was suddenly filled by two worried and curious blue eyes.

"Is that really you?" His super best friend asked, hopeful and suspicious at the same time.

"Yeah," Kyle replied, surprising himself with how weary and broken his voice sounded. "It's over, Stan. It's finally over..." Oh shit, he wasn't going to cry was he? Damn it. Kyle could feel the hot tears of relief pooling in his eyes and hoped he could claim they were tears of pain from Kenny nearly breaking his arms. The the other boy climbed off his back as well and Kyle lost his plausible explanation for the wetness gathering in his eyes, but also the tight pain that really was starting to hurt.

"Are you sure?" Kenny asked, equally suspicious.

"Yeah...It's...it's over." Kyle turned his head away, angry at himself for crying like a pussy when he should be laughing and smiling, but somehow, this was different. All those near-death experiences somehow paled in comparison the the trauma of this whole fiasco. Even though he hated himself for it, Kyle could feel the tears running down his cheeks and suddenly he was engulfed in a hug and the tears didn't matter anymore and Kenny joined in and for the first time in weeks he felt okay. _...As long as Cartman doesn't know about this..._

So there it is! FINISHED! And you have no idea how good it feels to be done! I'm thinking of writing an epilogue for this yet since I feel it ended kind of abruptly and I want to include some of the after-effects of this experience, but I don't know yet. I kind of like the ending:) Plus, if I did add an epilogue I wouldn't be able to say this: WOOT I FINALLY FINISHED IT! YAY!!!!!!!! Maybe I'll make it a one-shot based off of this story. Sort of like a sequel thing or something. Or maybe.....................I'll add it now! Mwahahaha!

**EPILOGUE**

Stan stretched out in his sleeping bag, careful to avoid knocking over the half-empty bowl of popcorn situated between him and his friend. He glanced over to said friend who was sleeping peacefully and smiled. Kyle deserved a good night's rest. It had been nearly two weeks since they'd got back from Washington D.C. and had concocted an amazingly brilliant alibi for dissapearing for several days. Okay, so Cartman had concocted an amazing alibi, namely claiming they had all been kidnapped by the guy who had stolen Ms. Cartman's car. Stan almost chuckled at the memory. It was amazing how fast parents could go from fuming to horrified. How threats of a lifetime of grounding quickly melted into promises of protection and all the ice cream they could eat. They had all been forced to see a shrink (thank God it hadn't been Mr. Mackey) to deal with any psychological issues they might have had. Stan, Cartman and Kenny had been cleared almost suspicously quickly, but Stan knew that Kyle was still seeing the shrink twice a week, not that he'd told anyone. Understandably, it wasn't something Kyle wanted to broadcast to the whole world. Exactly how much his friend had told the man, Stan didn't know, but it didn't really matter, he supposed, since there was the whole "patient confidentiality" thing. Then there were the changes in his friend. There were some little things, like the fact that Kyle now slept with a night light in his room, something he hadn't done in 5 years, not that anyone, even Cartman, called him on it. Then there were the slightly bigger things. Something Stan hadn't expected was his friend's new-found sense of confidence. He no longer freaked out over tests, seemed more comfortable around people, even girls (much to Stan's jealousy), and even took a few more risks, like the bike ride that had rendered him unconscious and landed him in this predicament in the first place. Taking Cartman up on his offer of a rematch, Kyle had not only made it down the hill on his bike, but set a faster time than Cartman. Stan smiled at the memory, but his happy train of thought was abruptly interrupted by his best friend moaning softly and turning over in his sleep. A frown furrowed Stan's brow as he watched Kyle sleep for a couople of moments. Like any traumatic experience, he supposed that one couldn't simply go home and pretend nothing happened. Kyle still got nightmares about the whole incident. When his friend had confided that information with Stan, the raven-haired boy had quickly began to worry about his friend, but Kyle had assured him with a wave and half-hearted chuckle.

"Don't worry, dude. These are pussy nightmares. Nothing like before, I can tell the difference." Despite his flippant reassurance, Stan could see that the red-head didn't completely believe the words he was saying. Still though, these nightmares hadn't left Kyle with any physical injuries, and Stan's worry slowly began to dissapate and he hoped that time would eventually solve this problem.

Another moan emanted from the lump that was his friend, and Stan redirected his attention to the sleeping bag beside his. Kyle was curled into a ball, with only the top of his wild red hair poking out.

"Noooooooooo...." Kyle groaned softly and Stan bit his lip in sympathy.

"Hey," he called softly to his friend, gently shaking his shoulder. "It's just a dream, Kyle. Wake up."

"Ngh...noooo..." The other boy curled tighter, trying to escape Stan's touch.

"C'mon, dude." Stan called out insistently, shaking a little harder. With sudden yelp, Kyle bolted upright, green eyes darting around frantically in the darkness of Stan's living room. He swallowed in huge gulps of air, pushing back the hair that had plastered itself to his sweat-soaked forehead.

"You okay?" Stan asked, giving his friend a moment to orient himself. Kyle's tense shoulders relaxed after a moment, finally turning to Stan with a sheepish grin that didn't quite make it to his troubled eyes.

"Yeah, dude. Sorry for waking you up."

"It's fine, I wasn't asleep yet anyways." Stan shrugged.

"Oh." A moment of silence hung in the air, before Stan decided to push for a little more information.

"Bad dream?"

"Obviously."

"How bad?"

"Bearable."

"What about?"

Here Kyle hesitated to respond. He hadn't been very forthcoming with the nature of his dreams since they'd returned to South Park.

"Same as usual." He finally replied.

"What's that?" Stan asked. Kyle bit his lip.

"When...when that thing took over my body...Kenny, he told me I would have to face it to get my body back. I...I kind of knew that. I knew I would have to face it eventually if I ever wanted to go back and I knew..." Kyle hesitated again, unsure whether to continue. Stan nodded in encouragement and Kyle haltingly went on. "I knew that everyone would probably be killed if I didn't do anything. You, Kenny, hell even the fatass would all die unless I faced my fear and won." Stan placed a hand on his friend's shoulder in sympathy. He hadn't realized how big of a burden Kyle had placed on himself. "I didn't want to do it, Stan." Kyle looked up to him, his green eyes filled with misery. "I was more scared of that...thing then of losing all you guys. I didn't want to do it. I keep dreaming that I chose to stay where I was. That you guys all died because I was a c-coward..." Kyle's last sentence was drowned out by his desperate attempt to hide a sob. He turned away, clearly trying to hide his emotions.

"That's what you've been worried about?" Stan asked in surprise, "Dude, you faced that thing. You won. You beat your biggest fears. There is no way in hell you could be called a coward."

"I didn't want to." Kyle whispered, still not looking up.

"But you did. Kyle, there's no point in thinking about what could have happened. You made the right choice, and everyone is safe thanks to you. You aren't a coward, you're a hero."

"If I were a hero, I wouldn't have hesitated. I wouldn't have thought about saving myself."

"No. That would have made you stupid. If you hadn't even considered saving yourself and leaving us all to face that thing, you would have just been an idiot. You realized you could save yourself, you wanted to, but you didn't. That, makes you a hero. It makes you the bravest person I know." Stan told him firmly, hoping some of this was getting through. Kyle slowly turned to face him, contemplating everything Stan had told him.

"Really?"

"Yeah, of course." Stan smiled. Kyle smiled too and for the first time since the incident Stan noted how the smile seemed to reach his eyes, making them sparkle with real happiness.

"Thanks Stan." His friend whispered hoarsely, before settling back into his sleeping bag.

"Your welcome." Stan nestled down into his own sleeping bag, calmed by the sounds of even breathing that eventually floated from the adjoining bag. He had a feeling that Kyle would finally be getting the good night sleep he had been lacking for God only knows how long. Smiling up at the ceiling, Stan could feel his own eyelids growing heavy. Things were finally getting back to normal. _Well,_ Stan conceded sleepily, _As normal as things ever get in South Park._

**Okay, now it's really done! Promise! Sorry this all took so long and for those of you who are actually keeping up with this story still, I applaud your patience! I was long overdue for an update! Oh, and my spelling/grammar check is out of order right now, so I have been looking up every word I'm unsure about on , however if I missed any, or just made some stupid mistake, please let me know, because I am a big-time grammar nazi and the thought of making some foolish mistake like that haunts me at night. (okay, not really) Anywho, thanks again to all my reader and reviewers! Much love!**


End file.
